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Groups give notice of intent to file suit against EPA for repeat failures to meet Clean Air Act

EPA and the State of Alaska must come up with a clean air action plan for the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has the worst episodes of fine particulate matter air pollution in the nation, but EPA has yet to take adequate action

Fairbanks community groups, frustrated over lack of action to address dirty air, notify of intent to sue EPA for missing its fourth deadline in as many years.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has the worst episodes of fine particulate matter air pollution in the nation, but EPA has yet to take adequate action to improve air quality

Scott Pruitt’s EPA directive and a bill in Congress seek to give industry the power to further delay or block public protections when EPA misses legal deadlines.

After Fairbanks residents filed a lawsuit, EPA finally agreed to address the worst spikes of fine particulate matter pollution in the country

This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ joint motion for entry of their proposed Consent Decree. (Dkt. No. 31.) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published notice of the proposed Consent Decree in the Federal Register and received only one anonymous comment, which was incomplete in that it contained no substance or attachments.The United States consents to entry of the Consent Decree. (Id.) Having thoroughly considered the joint motion and the relevant record, the Court hereby GRANTS the motion and ENTERS the following consent decree:

Fairbanks residents secure court-supervised EPA action to address the worst spikes of fine particulate matter pollution in the country

Fairbanks North Star Borough (the Borough) has the worst episodic fine particulate matter (PM-2.5) pollution in the nation—“worse than Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Detroit combined,” a local newspaper put it. See Exhibit 1 (Amanda Bohman, Air pollution in North Pole worse than Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Detroit combined, Fairbanks News Miner (May 27, 2016)). Defendants have known about Fairbanks’s PM-2.5 problem for more than half a decade, but they have repeatedly failed to take action mandated by the Clean Air Act to address the problem.

Fairbanks residents file lawsuit to enforce government’s duty to address the worst spikes of fine particulate matter pollution in the country, after EPA misses yet another deadline

Citizens for Clean Air, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, and the Sierra Club have sent a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for missing a third deadline in two years for addressing Fairbanks’s air pollution problem.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough has the worst episodes of fine particulate matter air pollution in the nation, but EPA has yet to take adequate action to improve air quality

Fairbanks has the worst episodic fine-particulate matter (“PM-2.5”) pollution in the nation—“worse than Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Detroit combined,” a local newspaper put it. See Exhibit 1 (Amanda Bohman, Air pollution in North Pole worse than Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Detroit combined, Fairbanks News Miner (May 27, 2016)). Defendants have known about Fairbanks’s PM-2.5 problem for half a decade at least, but they have repeatedly failed to take action mandated by the Clean Air Act.

Los residentes de Fairbanks presentaron una demanda para imponer el deber del gobierno de solucionar el peor aumento de contaminación por partículas finas de materia en todo el país

Fairbanks residents file second lawsuit to enforce government’s duty to address the worst spikes of fine particulate matter pollution in the country

Community groups frustrated with the government’s continuing failure to address dirty air, some of the worst in the nation