Pa., others appealing EPA regulations delay

15 states join lawsuit seeking new standards

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pennsylvania joined 14 other states Tuesday in a federal suit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to delay for a year new ozone pollution rules, with Gov. Tom Wolf saying the wait could hurt children who suffer from asthma.

Mr. Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the suit during a news conference along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The suit was filed in federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Wolf said the lower ozone levels will reduce health care costs. He said past EPA findings showed 230,000 asthma attacks a year could be prevented in American children if pollution were reduced.

“What is gravely concerning is that children who suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses are particularly vulnerable to elevated ozone levels,” Mr. Wolf said. “The ozone standard that the EPA is delaying would have serious positive health benefits for our children.”

Pennsylvania was joined in the case by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.

At issue for the states involved in the suit is a 2015 Obama-era EPA rule that lowered allowable ground-level ozone levels from 75 parts per billion to 70 parts per billion under National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Governors had to submit a list of areas SEE EPA, PAGE A-2