EPA Addresses Cross-State Air Pollution in Final Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- EPA is taking action to reduce harmful smog pollution today by finalizing the agency’s Good Neighbor Plan for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The new federal program will protect residents in dozens of states who are unknowingly and unwillingly subjected to smog pollution from power plants and industrial facilities in other states, often hundreds of miles away.

The final Good Neighbor Plan builds on several prior ozone transport rules going back to 2011. The rule addresses dangerous smog pollution using a combination of approaches proven to limit a key ingredient in smog: ozone season emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). EPA based the pollution reductions in the rule on NOx controls that two thirds of coal-fired power plants already have, but often fail to use effectively.

This final plan was released in response to legal action from Sierra Club, Air Alliance Houston, Center for Biological Diversity, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Clean Air Council, and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, all represented by Earthjustice and the Clean Air Task Force.

“Last summer, over 70,000 people shared their support for the Good Neighbor Plan, demanding fossil fuel power plants and industrial facilities that are polluting communities – in particular, Black and Brown communities already living under the weight of dangerous pollutants – comply with strict air quality standards,” Sierra Club National Director, Policy Advocacy and Legal, Leslie Fields said. “We are pleased EPA is listening to the people it serves and finalizing this common-sense solution to dangerous interstate ozone pollution. Through this rule, EPA will prevent 1,300 premature deaths annually as well as avoid 2,300 emergency room visits, 7,100 new asthma cases, and hundreds of thousands of missed school days.”

“Communities across the country continue to suffer from the health effects of ozone pollution produced by coal and chemical plants that refuse to use all available pollution controls,” Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston Jennifer Hadayia said. “Right here in Southeast Texas, we are home to one of the worst offenders: the W. A. Parish coal-fired power plant. Through the EPA’s new rule, thousands of tons of ozone-producing NOx from Texas will be eliminated by 2026. We commend the EPA for issuing this new rule in response to our lawsuit and the needs of community members. It’s time that people are the priority."

“Cleaner air is essential to restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and protecting the health of people who live in this region,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation Litigation Staff Attorney Ariel Solaski said. “Airborne nitrogen contributes roughly one-third of the nitrogen polluting the Bay — and half of that pollution comes from outside its watershed. A strong Good Neighbor Plan is an important step to further reducing the impact of interstate ozone pollution on the Bay and its surrounding communities.”

"Ameren Missouri and AECI are largely responsible for my home being the second worst neighbor for cross-state ozone pollution," Jenn DeRose, Missouri Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign said. “The utilities advocated for a do-nothing plan and that's exactly what they got from our state regulatory agency that is more of a lapdog than watchdog. The EPA's ozone plan is critical so Missourians and downwind communities can breathe easier–since our state regulators and utilities refuse to play by the rules Congress established and be a good neighbor."