The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, Calif., in July. (The Associated Press)

The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, Calif., in July. (The Associated Press)

Fourteen states sue over smog rules enforcement

  • By Don Thompson The Associated Press
  • Tuesday, December 12, 2017 2:12pm
  • News

By Don Thompson

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — Fourteen states, including Washington, and the District of Columbia have announced they are suing the Trump administration over what they say is a failure to enforce smog standards.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not designated any areas of the country as having unhealthy air, missing an Oct. 1 deadline, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday. Such areas must take steps to improve their air quality.

Poor air quality particularly affects the health of children, people with asthma and those who work outside, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led and announced the filing. The lawsuit says smog can cause or aggravate diseases including heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema.

“Lives can be saved if the EPA implements these standards,” he said in a statement.

Becerra was joined by the attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state. Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency also joined the suit.

The EPA said the agency’s policy is not to comment on litigation.

The suit is the latest allegation brought by Democratic officials in California and other states alleging that the Trump administration is illegally delaying environmental actions, as Republican officials including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt attempt to unwind rules set under the Obama administration.

Becerra, for instance, noted that he previously sued Trump officials for what he says is the illegal delay of a rule encouraging automakers to manufacture vehicle fleets that meet or exceed federal fuel efficiency standards.

Clean Air Act standards require that smog-producing ground-level ozone be kept below levels the federal government decides won’t affect public health. The lawsuit says the EPA missed its deadline to say which regions are not meeting the most recent standards set by the Obama administration in 2015.

The EPA determined, in setting the ozone standards, that the required reductions would produce billions of dollars’ worth of health benefits annually despite the costs of complying.

Failing to designate regions which are not complying deprives state and local regulators of crucial regulatory tools not otherwise available, according to the lawsuit. States were required under the law to recommend which areas they believe are not meeting the standards.

Nationwide, the tighter restrictions were projected to save between 316 and 660 lives each year, prevent nearly 900 hospital visits and keep children from missing 160,000 school days, bringing $4.5 billion in health benefits.

That includes up to 218 saved lives and $1.3 billion in savings in California alone from a reduction in health care costs, lost workdays and school absences, according to the lawsuit.

The EPA tried in June to extend its deadline to Oct. 1, 2018, but then withdrew the proposed extension in the face of lawsuits from states and advocacy groups.

Last month, it designated some areas as meeting standards but said it was postponing any decisions on regions that weren’t complying, including densely populated and high-risk urban areas, until “a separate future action,” the suit says. The agency didn’t say when it would act.

Efforts by states and regional air districts to reduce emissions from motor vehicles and other sources will be more difficult as the climate warms, California Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey said.

He said the EPA has had the information it needs to make the required designations for months without acting. The lawsuit asks a judge to order the EPA to act promptly.

More in News

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
U.S. Air Force veteran Robert Reinking, left, receives a lapel pin from Holly Rowan, president of the Clallam County Veterans Association, during a Vietnam Veteran Commemorative Ceremony on Wednesday at the Northwest Veterans Resource Center in Port Angeles. A total of 22 Vietnam veterans and six surviving spouses of veterans were honored with pins and certificates in an event sponsored by the veterans association and the Michael Trebert Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Veterans lauded in Port Angeles

U.S. Air Force veteran Robert Reinking, left, receives a lapel pin from… Continue reading

Danny G. Brewer
Active search suspended for Sequim man

The active search for a 73-year-old man reported missing south… Continue reading

Interest high in housing facility

Dawn View Court to open in April

Savanna Hoglund of Spokane takes a photo of her son, Lincoln Hoglund, 2, as hit sits on a wooden cougar sculpture in the Discovery Room on Tuesday at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles. The center features a variety of displays that provide a sampling of what can be found within the park, as well as interactive exhibits for children. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Park exhibit

Savanna Hoglund of Spokane takes a photo of her son, Lincoln Hoglund,… Continue reading

Port Townsend City Council approves zoning changes

Reforms seek to increase housing density

A crew from Jefferson County Public Utility District works to replace an old pole with a new one on the corner of Scott and Lawrence streets on Monday in Port Townsend. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Replacing a pole

A crew from Jefferson County Public Utility District works to replace an… Continue reading

Clallam County to provide PUD with funding

Rescue Plan dollars to aid water quality

Port of Port Townsend considers hiring second engineer for projects

Agency has $47M capital budget, faces ‘unprecedented’ volume

Most Read