CT Wins Lawsuit Against EPA Over Air Quality Enforcement

by Donald Eng

HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, as part of a coalition of 12 attorneys general, has secured a court order requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement necessary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to reduce air pollutants. The decision in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and denied EPA’s efforts to block the challenge, according to Tong’s office.

In April, the coalition sued the EPA over its failure to implement a 2024 Clean Air Act rule strengthening NAAQS for fine particulate matter, commonly known as soot. Soot is an air pollutant emitted from a variety of sources including combustion-engine vehicles, factories, and construction sites. Because of the particles’ small size, once inhaled, they can penetrate the lower parts of lungs, move out of the respiratory system, and affect other organs, Tong said. As a result, soot exposure can lead to myriad health problems, including shortened lifespans, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and cancer.

“There is nothing more vital to public health than the air we breathe, and we cannot take that for granted,” Tong said. “We sued to force the EPA to do its job, and we’re going to stay on them until it gets done.”

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to set NAAQS for several pollutants, including fine particulate matter, at a level that protects public health and welfare. When NAAQS are updated, the Clean Air Act gives EPA a specific deadline to designate areas of the country that are in violation of the updated standard as “nonattainment.” This designation provides key support for State programs to reduce dangerous pollution levels to safer levels, Tong said. EPA ignored this deadline, leading to the multistate suit, and the court decision requires EPA to issue the designations.

Reductions in soot are associated with decreases in the risk of mortality and increases in life expectancy. In 2024, in response to advocacy from California and others, EPA strengthened the soot NAAQS based on overwhelming scientific evidence. According to its own estimates, EPA has reported that the first year alone of full attainment of the 2024 NAAQS will result in significant public health benefits, including avoiding 4,500 premature deaths, 2,000 emergency room visits, 5,700 new cases of asthma, 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms, 290,000 lost workdays, and 1,000 hospital admissions for Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s diseases. The value of these and other health benefits would outweigh the estimated costs of implementation by $46 billion, Tong said.