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Sierra Club Urges EPA to Regulate Toxic Air Pollutants to Curb Global Warming and Protect the Health of Communities

Case Updates:

February 11, 2009

On February 4, 2009, Sierra Club and Environmental Integrity Project took bold action to curb global warming emissions and protect communities from toxic air pollutants. The two environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to update emission standards for nitric acid plants. These plants are the leading US industrial source of nitrous oxide – a powerful greenhouse gas and air pollutant linked to respiratory problems, heart disease, and premature deaths. The current emission standards allow nitric acid plants to emit dangerously high levels of nitrous oxide and Sierra Club and Environmental Integrity Project are urging the EPA to review them – for the first time since 1984 - and revise them. If the EPA chooses to take swift action and enforce tighter standards, it will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.

October 8, 2008

One of the main duties of the federal Environmental Protection Agency is to protect people and communities from air pollution. On Tuesday October 7, 2008, Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project announced plans to sue EPA for failing to update its emissions standard for nitric acid plants at least every eight years, as required by the Clean Air Act. While no legal action has been taken yet, if the EPA does not begin reviewing these standards within the 60-day notice period Sierra Club and EIP will seek a court order forcing it to do so. Nitric acid plants are significant sources of many pollutants, including nitrous oxide, which is 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming potential, and controlling it is one of the easiest ways for EPA to make a dent in global warming emissions. It is about time the EPA took steps to protect Americans for the negative effects of nitrous oxide, and this threat of legal action will hopefully jump start the EPA into action.

Details and Documents:

News Articles

Environmental Integrity Project and Sierra Club Threaten to Sue EPA
October 7, 2008, RTT News