San Joaquin Valley Air Plan Challenged in Court

SAN FRANCISCO, California, May 27, 2004 (ENS) - Public interest groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging the federal agency's approval of a plan to control particulate matter in the San Joaquin Valley.

The organizations, which include Latino Issues Forum, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air, and the Sierra Club, contend the plan does not meet basic requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The plan is the first ever to be approved for San Joaquin Valley by the EPA.

The lawsuit, filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, alleges it is too weak to effectively reduce particulate matter air pollution, a deadly form of air pollution that kills more than 1,200 Valley residents each year.

Particulate matter in the valley consists of fine particles of diesel exhaust, dust, soot, animal waste, smoke, and other toxic chemicals.

"The EPA is adding insult to injury by approving this plan," said Kevin Hall, a lifelong valley resident and Sierra Club volunteer. "Once again we're being forced into the courts because the agency refuses to obey the law and do its job."

The Clean Air Act requires local agencies to develop and implement plans to clean up the air - if they do not comply, the EPA is required to step in and develop a plan.

Under the statute, the EPA was required to impose sanctions on the Valley and develop a federally enforceable plan to regulate particulate matter pollution by December 17, 1993.

In October 2002, these same groups, represented by Earthjustice, sued the EPA for its failure to follow through on this commitment.

As a result, EPA was required by court order to finalize a federal plan by August 2004 to control particulate matter pollution in the valley if the region did not first produce an approvable local plan.

The plan the region has come up with should not be approved, critics say.

"For the past decade, the San Joaquin Valley Air District came up with ineffectual, loophole ridden plans the EPA could not approve," said Anne Harper, an attorney with Earthjustice who is representing the coalition. "This plan is no different, but EPA has approved it to avoid stepping in with a federal plan."

The groups say the plan will delay compliance with federal particulate matter standards until 2010 and note that the EPA calculates that up to 92 percent of the pollution reductions relied upon in the plan rely on "commitments" or promises to develop cleanup measures.

In addition, they contend the proposed program to regulate agriculture is riddled with exemptions, loopholes, and overly optimistic predictions of success.

Agriculture is responsible for more than half of the particulate matter that is directly emitted into the air of the San Joaquin Valley.