Green groups sue Obama administration for scuttling ozone rule

A coalition of environmental and public health groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Obama administration for scuttling planned regulations aimed at tightening smog standards.

The groups — which include Earthjustice, the American Lung Association, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Appalachian Mountain Club — are reviving a 2008 lawsuit challenging ozone standards put in place by the Bush administration.

The 2008 lawsuit was put on hold when the Obama administration, led by the Environmental Protection Agency, said it planned to tighten the standards. The administration delayed finalization of the standards for months, however, and the White House ultimately decided in September to shelve the rules, infuriating environmental and public health groups.

Industry groups had mounted an aggressive campaign to block the ozone regulations, arguing that they will impose huge burdens on the economy. The administration estimated that the regulations would cost $19 billion to $90 billion.

But public health groups — along with the EPA’s own scientists — note that the rules would reduce harmful air pollution that worsens respiratory problems like asthma and lung disease.

“The rejection of stronger standards was illegal and irresponsible in our view,” Earthjustice attorney David Baron said in a statement. “Instead of protecting people’s lungs as the law requires, this administration based its decision on politics, leaving tens of thousands of Americans at risk of sickness and suffering.”

The groups filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The lawsuit names the EPA and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson as respondents.

Before the White House scuttled the regulations, EPA proposed tightening the Bush-era ozone standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb.

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