The Clean Air Act, when first created, required states to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to demonstrate how they would meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Ohio’s SIP includes an air pollution nuisance rule, more commonly known as the nuisance provision, that allows concerned citizens to take a company to court for worsening our air quality. It’s especially important for providing a pathway to action when federal or state regulators have failed to address the problem.
Now, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is trying to remove Ohio’s nuisance provision. The agency is arguing that the state has failed to use the nuisance provision to enforce or maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, so it should not be part of Ohio’s implementation of the Clean Air Act.
This is yet another of the Trump administration’s rollbacks on environmental regulations created to protect our public health and our right to breathe clean air.
The EPA is required to take public comments on this issue, and the public comment period has been extended through May 22. Every comment in favor of protecting Ohio’s nuisance provision helps advocates argue in court that the nuisance provision is a necessary part of the Ohio SIP.
Take action to protect our air quality!