Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

668 F. Supp. 848, 26 ERC 1604, 18 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20106, 26 ERC (BNA) 1604, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8309
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided September 9, 1987·No. 87 Civ. 0505 (MEL)·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

LASKER, District Judge.

This citizens’ suit, brought under § 304 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7604 (1982), by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and several New York area lung associations (collectively “NRDC”), concerns New York State’s responsibility to reduce the level of the pollutant ozone in the air we breathe. Ozone is one of the primary ingredients of the smog which often envelopes the New York metropolitan area. 1 Exposure to ozone can impair lung functions, reduce resistance to respiratory infections, and aggravate asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. 2 NRDC charges that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) and its commissioner (collectively “the State”) have failed to implement four major ozone-reduction strategies included in New York’s state air quality implementation plan (“SIP”), in violation of their nondiscretionary duties under the Clean Air Act. NRDC moves for summary judgment on the State’s liability and for relief in the form of a scheduling order.

This motion raises the following issues: (1) whether a finding of liability should be made against the state defendants because they have not implemented the four strategies according to the description and timetables set forth in the SIP; (2) whether dates should be set for implementing and completing these four strategies, and, if so, what these dates should be; and (3) what other provisions, if any, should be included in the scheduling order.

I. State Defendants’ Liability

a) Overview of the Clean Air Act

A central purpose of the Clean Air Act (“the Act”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401-7642 (1982), enacted by Congress in 1970 and amended in 1977, is “to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation’s air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population,” 42 U.S.C. § 7401(b)(1). Under the framework of the Act, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) must promulgate an air quality standard for any air pollutant that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 7408(a)(1)(A), 7409(b)(1). Each state must then adopt and submit to EPA a plan for implementation, maintenance and enforcement of the air quality standard for each pollutant. See 42 U.S.C. § 7410(a). A state plan, once adopted by a state and approved by the EPA, becomes controlling and must be carried out by the state, with modifications *851 permitted “only cautiously and grudgingly.” Friends of the Earth v. Carey, 535 F.2d 165, 169 (2d Cir.1976).

The original goal of the Act was to achieve substantial attainment of the air quality standards by 1977. However, when it became clear in 1977 that many states had failed to meet the appropriate standards, Congress extended the deadline for nonattaining states to December 31, 1982. See Connecticut Fund for Environment v. E.P.A., 672 F.2d 998, 1001 (2d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Manchester Environmental Coalition v. E.P.A., 459 U.S. 1035, 103 S.Ct. 445, 74 L.Ed.2d 601 (1982); 42 U.S.C. § 7502(a)(1). An additional extension until December 31, 1987 was provided under certain circumstances for states which had not attained the standards set for carbon monoxide or ozone. 42 U.S.C. § 7502(a)(2). However, these extensions were not granted automatically: “cognizant of the already lengthy history of delays and disappointments that had characterized previous efforts to combat pollution, Congress sought to build in some insurance that the [air quality standards] would be met by the new deadlines” by requiring each state which received an extension to submit a revised SIP that would meet stringent requirements set forth in 42 U.S.C. §§ 7501-7508. Connecticut Fund for Environment, 672 F.2d at 1001.

b) New York’s Ozone State Implementation Plan

By the procedure described above, the State of New York sought and received an extension of time until December 31, 1987 to achieve the air quality standard set by the EPA for the pollutant ozone. As a prerequisite for obtaining the 1987 extension, New York submitted a revised ozone state implementation plan, which was approved by the EPA on June 17, 1985. 40 C.F.R. §§ 52.1672-73 (1986). Because man-made volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) are one of the primary ingredients of atmospheric ozone, the revised New York SIP included, among other things, commitments to study and implement strategies for reducing VOC emissions from four major sources: 1) gasoline service stations; 2) paint spraying operations at automotive body shops; 3) paints and other architectural coatings which are applied to both the exterior and interior surfaces of buildings; and 4) consumer and commercial solvent-based products such as aerosol sprays, rubbing compounds and polishes. 3 It is New York’s failure to implement these four strategies according to the timetables set forth in the revised SIP which is the subject of this action and this summary judgment motion.

c) Liability of the State Defendants

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Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 668 F. Supp. 848, 26 ERC 1604, 18 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20106, 26 ERC (BNA) 1604, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8309 (S.D.N.Y. 1987).

668 F. Supp. 848 (Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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