Public Health, Environmental Groups Settle
Smog Lawsuit with EPA
Health-based air-quality standard to be enacted after five-year delay

For Immediate Release: November 13, 2002

Contact: Eliot Levinsohn, 248-784-2000 American Lung Association James Clift, 517-487-9539 Michigan Environmental Council

Washington, D.C.- Stricter, healthier ozone regulations will finally be implemented after resolution of a lengthy court challenge was settled with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today, according to health and environmental groups. Ending the five-year conflict will kick off a process that requires states to meet more stringent health-based air quality standards first issued by the EPA back in 1997, but which have been tangled in legal battles ever since.

The papers filed today as part of the settlement put a deadline on the EPA to formally determine which areas fail to meet the revised standards for ozone by April, 2004. It is expected that air quality in communities located in 38 states will be determined out of compliance. Once EPA makes this assessment, state and local programs will be called on to reduce smog emissions to meet the standards.

The EPA strengthened the national ambient air-quality standard for ground-level ozone in 1997 because clinical studies showed the old standard was not adequately protecting children and other vulnerable populations against decreased lung function, respiratory ailments, and possible long-term lung damage. Congress directed the EPA to determine which areas would not meet the new ozone standard by July 2000; the agency has yet to do so, prompting several state and national organizations, including the Michigan Environmental Council and the American Lung Association, to take force the issue in court.

"We're glad to see the medical community's valuable research continues to guide us toward better protection of Michigan's children and elderly," said James Clift of the Michigan Environmental Council. "The prospect of continued delay ultimately harms everybody. With the new data and better guidelines in place, people on both sides of the issue can now roll up their sleeves and begin the work that will provide safe air for every resident of our state.."

Research has indicated that ozone may not only trigger asthma, but could be linked to the development of the condition in children, and possibly inhibit their lung development. A powerful irritant, ozone inflames lungs as though they were sunburned and causes asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing and other respiratory conditions. Ozone levels low enough to comply with the previous standard-levels experienced each year by millions of people around the nation-are still high enough to cause significant health impacts. Implementing the new standards will prevent thousands of asthma attacks, hospitalizations, and asthma-related emergency room visits each year.

Five groups from the Midwest and Southeast and four national environmental organizations were involved in the settlement and represented in court by Earthjustice and the Clean Air Task Force. These groups include MEC; the Alabama Environmental Council; Clean Air Council; Ohio Environmental Council; Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; the American Lung Association; Environmental Defense; the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club.

The proposed settlement was filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 02-2239 RMU).

Consent decree:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/Lodged_Consent_Decree.pdf

Notice of lodging:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/Notice_of_Lodging.pdf

Complaint:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/Complaint_8hour_designations.pdf

60-day notice letter:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/ALA_et_al_60-day_notice.pdf

Ozone chronology:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/ozone_control_chronology.pdf

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