EPA must deal with air ‘crisis’ in San Joaquin Valley, lawsuit says. It’s not the first

Several groups filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claiming the agency has chosen not to intervene in California’s repeated failures to meet decades-old air pollution targets for fine particulate matter in the San Joaquin Valley.

The federal suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court of Northern California. The groups that joined forces to file the lawsuit include Comite Progreso De Lamont, Committee for a better Arvin, Committee for a better Shafter, the Central California Environmental Justice Network, the Association of Irritated Residents, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air, the National Parks Conservation Association and the Sierra Club.

The suit was filed against the EPA and Michael S. Regan in his agency administrator capacity. The Bee reached out to the EPA for comment.

This is not the first lawsuit against the EPA over this issue. In 2001, several groups filed a lawsuit over the “agency’s failure to oversee progress towards clean air in the San Joaquin Valley.” Under a 2002 settlement, the EPA was placed under court supervision. It wasn’t immediately known what happened during and after the court supervision ended.

The new suit asks the court to compel the EPA to take action as required under the Clean Air Act to address the longstanding issue impacting the San Joaquin Valley.

“Communities in the San Joaquin Valley, especially communities of color, have suffered from the worst air quality in the nation,” Mercedes Macias, a senior organizing representative for Sierra Club, said in a Wednesday statement. “Decades of failure from the EPA to hold the San Joaquin Valley Air District accountable contribute to continued unconscionable levels of PM-2.5.”

This failure, Macias said, has led to residents suffering from chronic health problems, and even death. She called on the EPA to take immediate action.

Measures under the Clean Air Act ensure areas across the country have “air that is safe to breathe,” according to the lawsuit. The EPA, the suit says, is responsible for reviewing air standards to establish the maximum allowable concentrations of different pollutants.

“States with air basins that fail to meet these standards must adopt state implementation plans outlining the measures that will be implemented to clean the air and attain the standards by statutorily imposed deadlines,” the lawsuit reads. “Where states fail or refuse to adopt required plans, EPA is obligated to adopt federal implementation plans to address any shortfalls.”

EPA findings

In December 2018, the EPA found California had failed to develop and submit plan revisions to achieve national clean air standards for 1997, 2006 and 2012 for particulate matter in the San Joaquin Valley, according to the lawsuit. Under federal regulations, the EPA is required to step in and enforce a plan within two years of the findings, unless the state submits revised plans that get approval from the agency.

The EPA has not received and approved all state plan revisions, the lawsuit says. And the agency, the suit says, has failed to step in since January 2021 to enforce a federal plan as required.

Greg Muren, an attorney with Earthjustice, said the EPA has “excused California’s failure to follow the law” to clean up the air in the San Joaquin Valley for decades.

“Now, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to step in and develop a plan of its own that will actually work,” Muren said in a Wednesday statement. “EPA should follow through on its stated commitment to environmental justice and give residents the bare minimum that they deserve: air that is safe to breathe.”

Particulate matter pollution is one of the “most dangerous forms of air pollution,” the lawsuit says. These tiny particles, or PM-2.5, come from diesel exhaust, agricultural activities and heavy industry.

They can cause premature death, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma and decreased lung function when inhaled.

“PM-2.5 especially threatens underserved populations,” the lawsuit reads. “People of color and poorer people are more likely to be exposed to unhealthy PM-2.5 levels and, once exposed, are more likely to die as a result of the exposure.”

On Sept. 10, the groups sent a letter to EPA Administrator Regan. In the letter, the groups inform Regan of the intent to file a lawsuit over the agency’s failure to perform its duty under the Clean Air Act.

“The Valley’s PM2.5 levels — in concert with the cumulative harms caused by air and water pollutants in general — are an ongoing public health and environmental justice crisis,” the letter reads. “Health problems related to PM2.5 are myriad in the Valley: for instance, one in six Valley children gets asthma by the time they turn 18, and emergency room visits for air-related ailments spike during periods when PM2.5 is high.”