EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin could delay enforcement of an air pollution standard projected to save thousands of lives while the agency awaits a pivotal court ruling, a spokesperson indicated Monday.
Under the Clean Air Act, Zeldin can take another year to decide which parts of the country are flunking the stronger 2024 soot exposure standard if he decides that more information is needed, EPA Press Secretary Brigit Hirsch said in an email.
The agency missed a statutory Saturday deadline for making those decisions. Apart from acknowledging receipt of a follow-up query, Hirsch did not immediately provide answers to additional questions seeking confirmation that Zeldin plans to invoke that waiver and, if so, on what grounds.
One basis could be a recent industry coalition petition challenging the accuracy of hundreds of soot monitors used to determine compliance. Joseph Stanko, an attorney for the NAAQS [National Ambient Air Quality Standards] Regulatory Review and Rulemaking Coalition, said in a Monday email that the group had thus far not received a response from EPA.
