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Sierra Club v. EPA   (6th Circuit)

Preserving EPA's authority to exclude exceptional events from Ozone NAAQS calculations

On May 2, 2024, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the 6th Circuit to recognize wildfires as an exceptional event properly excluded by EPA when determining compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards. In this case, Sierra Club challenges EPA’s redesignation of the Detroit area from nonattainment to compliant with the 2015 ozone NAAQs. In making this determination, EPA excluded from its calculations monitoring data on two days that the Detroit area was adversely affected by wildfires. We argue that EPA properly excluded the data influenced by wildfires, which are exceptional events that need not be included in state reporting data under the Clean Air Act. Excluding exceptional events from determinations of whether areas have attained the NAAQS standard provides needed relief for business from the costly and burdensome requirements to limit their emissions based on circumstances beyond a state or businesses’ control.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (May 2, 2024)