New York AG and Connecticut AG Filed Lawsuit Over EPA’s Inaction on Cross-State Air Pollution

JANUARY 16, 2020

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its failure to fulfill its non-discretionary duties under the Clean Air Act’s “good neighbor” provision, which requires the agency to ensure that upwind states’ air pollution emissions do not interfere with downwind states’ ability to comply with federal air quality standards. The lawsuit followed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s October 2019 decision to vacate the EPA’s December 2018 “Close-Out Rule,” in which the agency declined to require further action by upwind states to reduce emissions of ozone and ozone precursors. In their complaint, the attorneys general noted that the D.C. Circuit ruling means that the EPA is now in violation of a June 2018 district court decision that imposed a December 6, 2018 deadline for the agency to finalize plans to control ozone pollution from upwind states.