EPA Agreed to Publish Complete Lists of Each State’s Implementation Plan

Under a Consent Decree in Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Regan, EPA agreed to publish complete lists of each state’s implementation plan (SIP) for complying with EPA’s national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) set under the Clean Air Act. These standards govern the six “criteria” pollutants that pose serious threats to human health. The agreement comes after Our Children’s Earth Foundation, a human rights and environmental nonprofit, sued to compel EPA to release the plans after missing deadlines in 2016 and 2019 to do so. Making the plans publicly available will improve public accountability for both EPA and state environmental agencies. For more information on the NAAQS rulemakings, see our page on National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM and Ozone. For information on how upwind states affect downwind states’ ability to meet the NAAQS, see our page on Air Transport Rules History: Cross-State Air Pollution Rule/Good Neighbor Rule.