Topic
Air Quality Standards
37 published works
Environmental Law Section Blog | Environmental Law Section
Clearing the Air about Serious Ozone Nonattainment in Southeastern Wisconsin
On Jan. 16, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified several counties in southeastern Wisconsin from moderate to serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).1…
S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and GOP Leaders Challenge EPA’s PM-2.5 Standard in Court
By John Habib
by Patrick Paul, Shawane Lee, and John Habib In a move that could have significant implications for Arizona’s environmental policy and economy, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Republican leaders…
The Nickel Report
Possible Stringent Secondary NAAQS Raise Implementation Questions
Secondary NAAQS have traditionally not been more stringent than primary ones, yet EPA’s staff and science advisors are developing recommendations that EPA promulgate such standards. Any new, more stringent secondary…
Manufacturing Industry Advisor
Breathe Easy: U.S. EPA Seeks to Significantly Tighten Fine Particulate Matter Standards
By Peter A. Tomasi, Amanda K. Beggs
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to lower the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine/inhalable particulate matter (PM2.5). These…
Law & The Environment
EPA Proposes to Lower the PM2.5 NAAQS — Searching For the Goldilocks Level
By Seth Jaffe
EPA has finally proposed revisions to the national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5. The Administrator is proposing to lower the standard from 12.0 ug/m3 to a range of 9.0…
Law & The Environment
CASAC Signals that a Lower PM2.5 NAAQS Is On the Way; It Can’t Come Too Soon
By Seth Jaffe
The momentum continues to build for a more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5. In June, EPA announced it would revisit the Trump Administration’s decision to keep the…
Law & The Environment
Will Evidence of Causality Be Enough to Change EPA’s Mind About the PM2.5 Standard?
By Seth Jaffe
There have been numerous studies that support a decrease in the current PM2.5 annual standard of 12 ug/m3. EPA has nonetheless proposed to retain the current standard on the basis…
The Nickel Report
The New NAAQS Review Process Begins to Take Shape
By Lucinda M. Langworthy, Aaron M. Flynn
The US National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are the centerpiece of the US Clean Air Act (CAA) and establish allowable concentration levels for six "criteria air pollutants": ozone, particulate…
Environmental Law & Policy Monitor
EPA Releases Proposal in the Third Round of Designations for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
By Margaret Campbell, Melissa Horne
On August 22, 2017, EPA released its proposed area designations in the latest round of designations under the 2010 SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The proposed designations largely…
Capital Thinking
Senate Considers Changing NAAQs; House Examines Army Corps and US Forest Service Budgets; State Department Seeks Global Scientists
Legislative Branch Activity This week on Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, will hold a hearing titled “Making Implementation of…