For Immediate Release
January 4, 2013 Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100
Victory for Clean Air: Soot Rule Appeal Today our lungs can breathe a little easier.The DC federal Court of Appeals is requiring the EPA to implement stronger requirements to clean up particulate matter, or "soot".Soot is one of the deadliest forms of air pollution and this decision will help clean up our air and improve public health.The Court found the 2007 Bush rules too flexible, the standards were not based on science, and gave states too much leeway and waivers for meeting the standards.The suit was brought by Earthjustice on behalf Sierra Club and other environmental groups.In response to the Court's decision*Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club*, issued the following response:
"New Jersey has some of the worst air pollution in the country and have seen air quality getting worse.Soot is a major air pollutant that causes asthma attacks in children and can even lead to heart attacks in people with cardiac problems.Soot is one of the worst forms of air pollution based on how it attacks your lungs.This ruling will help us clean up dirty power plants and diesel truck emissions. This will help us all breathe easier."
"By overturning the Bush era rules the EPA will be able to tighten up standards even further and better protect our air, public health, and safety.Now the EPA can go even further than the 20% reductions in soot they proposed in December of 2012."
"This ruling means states will have less time and fewer waivers to meet the current standards." Major sources of soot pollution include coal-fired power plants, factories, oil refineries, and diesel engines. The ruling means that more plants will be subject to more protective particulate matter limits in areas that violate health standards. It also will require limits not only on direct emissions of soot, but also on pollutants that transform into particulate matter in the air. Under the ruling, the most stringent controls will apply to communities that fail to timely attain health standards (within four to six years). Among other things, these areas will have to implement the best available control measures (instead of just reasonably available measures) and achieve pollution cuts of at least five percent per year if they fail to meet standards on time.
-- Kate Millsaps Conservation Program Coordinator NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club 609-656-7612