WildEarth Guardians, Midwest Environmental Defense Center, Sierra Club v. Lisa Jackson, in her official capacity as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Published: Jun. 23, 2012 | Result Date: May 9, 2012 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 4:2011-cv-05651 and consolidated action 11-cv-5694-YGR Bench Decision – Defense
Court
USDC Northern
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
Several environmental groups, including WildEarth Guardians and the Sierra Club, filed a series of class actions under the Clean Air Act's (CAA) citizen suit provision to force Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency's administrator, to review and modify the way it regulates air pollution from ozone. The EPA filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. It argued that it previously complied with the statute when it promulgated prevention of significant deterioration regulations for ozone, and that statute did not create a mandatory duty to update or revise the rules simply because the national ambient air quality standards for ozone had been subsequently revised.
Result
The federal judge agreed with the EPA and ruled that the Clean Air Act did not require it to revise its air quality protection rules just because national standards for ozone have changed. The judge granted the EPA's motion to dismiss.
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