Yesterday evening public interest law firm Earthjustice joined several environmental organizations in opposing industry lawsuits that seek to undermine crucial air pollution rules. Earthjustice is representing the Environmental Defense Fund in this intervention in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to protect air pollution limits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted in 1978, 1980 and 2002. Known as the “prevention of significant deterioration” (PSD) program, the rules require large new factories and power plants to install the best available control technology to limit air pollutants and prove they will not violate clean air standards or significantly degrade air quality.
The following statement is from David Baron, managing attorney for Earthjustice:
“Major polluting industries are attacking long-settled rules that have protected our lungs and pristine areas from dangerous pollution for decades.
“An attempt to weaken these longstanding clean air protections is like trying to bring back the days when cars didn’t need seat belts. These vital clean air rules have been in place for more than 30 years, and the time for challenging them passed long ago. If anything, the evidence today shows we need more, not less protection from air pollution.