A conservation group sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because it failed to establish a plan to stop New Mexico’s ozone pollution drifting to neighboring States.
WildEarth Guardians filed a federal lawsuit against the EPA, claiming that it missed the deadline to put in place a good neighbor program for New Mexico, which was supposed to reduce ground-level ozone, which can drift into other states like Texas, Arizona, and Colorado.
The Clean Air Act required that the EPA review New Mexico’s plan and make any necessary changes by Jan. 6. Or, it would come up with a federal plan. However, neither has happened, according to the lawsuit.
According to Daniel Timmons, WildEarth Guardians attorney, the EPA should have done more by now since New Mexico submitted its ozone plan in August almost three years late.
This litigation is asking EPA to implement a plan for reducing ozone emission because New Mexico missed its October 2018 deadline, Timmons said.
Ground-level Ozone can impair breathing, and in high enough amounts can cause damage to the heart, lungs, and brain.
Representatives of the EPA couldn’t be reached to comment on the matter. In the past, the agency stated that its policy was not to comment on active litigations.
A state Environment Department spokesperson wrote in an email that the agency’s analysis and the EPAs modeling showed that New Mexico has a plan in place that is sufficient to comply with good neighbour rules. This means that there is no significant downwind ozone drift.
WildEarth Guardians decided to focus on meaningful engagement in addressing rising ozone concentrations instead of focusing on them, according to Matt Maez, a spokesperson.
The EPA reduced the eight-hour ozone limit to 70 parts/ billion in October 2015 from the previous 75. States were then given three years to create plans to curb their emissions. This was with the underlying goal to prevent pollutants from blowing into neighboring states, according to the lawsuit.
The EPA ruled that New Mexico had failed submit a plan in November 2019. The lawsuit stated that the agency was now required to create a good neighbour plan for New Mexico within two years. The deadline would expire on January 6, 2022.
Timmons stated that the lawsuit does not specifically target the New Mexico plan, but that plan likely has flaws that the EPA would need to address.
The lawsuit does not single out specific sources of ozone-pollution, such as oil operations in the San Juan basin and Permian Basins. Timmons stated that these emit high levels of ozone, as well as power plants and transportation that use fossil fuels.
He said that if the EPA approved New Mexico’s plan, then the state regulation of oilfield pollutants would be in effect.
A group representing environmental watchdogs said that New Mexico’s ozone-depleting emissions should be reduced if it adopts the stricter ozone precursor rule to curb the emission of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.
Jon Goldstein, the state policy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, stated that the rule was specifically designed to limit ozone polluting from the oil and natural gas industry.
The state Environmental Improvement Board adopted provisions in the rule last week. It is expected to finalize it in April.
Goldstein stated that if the EPA acts quickly when states fail to enact required planning, it will set a good precedent to future regulations.
The EPA is releasing a new methane rules that asks states to create plans to meet the standards. If they are not, the agency can impose its own plan.
Timmons stated that it is still uncertain how effective the ozone precursor rules will be in eliminating this pollution, given the current funding level.
Goldstein and Timmons agreed that ozone must not be released into the atmosphere. It can drift to neighboring states if it isn’t stopped at ground level.
Timmons stated that it is fundamentally about preventing emissions in the first instance.
