Appeals Court: Nation's Capital Must Clean Smog Now

WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2004 (ENS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Clean Air Act when it approved a proposal by the Washington, DC metropolitan area to delay adoption of stronger smog controls, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The three judge panel said the agency was not authorized to approve a regional smog control plan that "did nothing more than promise to do tomorrow what the Act requires today."

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will force the EPA and regional officials to take more aggressive steps to improve air quality in and around the nation's capital.

The Sierra Club sued the EPA last spring for its conditional approval of regional air pollution cleanup plans prepared by Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The environmental group argued the plans fall far short what is needed for the region to comply with the Clean Air Act and in effect let the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and Virginia delay adoption of needed anti-smog measures.

The three judge panel agreed and determined "the statue requires that the states commit to adopt specific enforceable measures."

The nation's capital suffers some of the worst smog in the United States. (Photo courtesy EPA)

Melanie Mayock of the Sierra Club said her organization is "pleased the court rejected EPA's delaying tactic."

"We need an effective, enforceable plan to get the necessary pollution reductions for healthy air, and we need it now," Mayock said.

The Washington, DC metropolitan area has for decades violated federal air quality standards for ozone, the major component of smog, and in the summer of 2002 the region suffered from the worst ozone pollution in more than a decade.

Ozone is formed near the ground by the action of sunlight on volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides and is primarily caused by emissions from motor vehicles, industrial emissions and chemical solvents.

EPA standards limit regions to a total of four "code red" days over three years - in 2002 alone the Washington area had nine code red days.

This is the third time in two years a federal court has ruled that EPA has illegally delayed clean air requirements for the region.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Washington, DC area should have met federal ozone standards by 1999. Regional officials have blamed Midwestern power plants and other sources of air pollution outside the region, but critics contend the area's rapidly growing population of automobiles is the prime cause of the dirty air.

The metropolitan area is consistently ranked within the top three areas in the nation for worst traffic congestion.

In 2002, a federal court struck down an EPA decision to extend the compliance deadline until 2005. Last year another suit by environmentalists forced the agency to reclassify the Washington area as in severe violation of ozone standards.

Ten other areas have been designated by EPA as being in severe nonattainment of federal ozone standards including Houston, Sacramento, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Los Angeles’ smog problem is designated extreme by the agency.

Severe traffic congestion is a daily fact of life in the Washington DC metropolitan area. (Photo courtesy Capital Beltway Study)

But those more protective measures have not been adopted, according to Earthjustice attorney David Baron.

"We hope EPA will now get the message and start protecting our lungs rather than making excuses for delay," Baron said.

Smog creates serious public health concerns and there is increasing scientific evidence linking air pollution to asthma, heart disease and certain cancers.

Children, the elderly and individuals with chronic lung disease, such as asthma, are at greatest risk of breathing problems from exposure to smog.

Nearly one half of all Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of smog.