Government sued over new smog rules

WASHINGTON – Health and environmental organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that the Bush administration failed to protect public health and the environment when it issued new smog requirements.

The lawsuit maintains that the Environmental Protection Agency ignored the recommendation of a key advisory panel of scientists who had recommended more stringent smog standards.

The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by Earthjustice on behalf of a number of environmental and conservation groups and the American Lung Association.

Eleven states filed a parallel suit against the EPA in an effort to overturn what Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called weak ozone standards. The states were Connecticut, California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Other plaintiffs were the District of Columbia, the city of New York and Pennsylvania’s department of environmental protection.

The EPA in March issued tougher health standards for ozone, commonly known as smog, requiring that airborne concentrations be lowered from a maximum 84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion.

But an EPA science advisory board – and most health experts – had recommended a limit of 60 to 70 parts per billion to adequately protect the elderly, people with respiratory problems and children.

The EPA also did not go as far as the science panel had recommended in setting a separate standard to protect the environment, especially plants, forests and wildlife, from smog. The EPA lowered the standard equal to the primary standard safeguarding public health, but it rejected a more beneficial “seasonal standard” urged by conservationists.

EPA and White House officials have acknowledged that the seasonal standard had been opposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which oversees government regulation. The issue was settled after President Bush intervened directly on behalf of the White House staff only hours before the rule was announced.

David Baron, an attorney for Earthjustice, said the Clean Air Act “requires EPA to adopt standards strong enough to protect our lungs and our environment” and that the EPA standard fails to do so.

“The EPA’s decision to disregard the overwhelming evidence and the advice of respected experts is a decision that we cannot allow go unchallenged,” said Bernadette Toomey, president of the American Lung Association.