EPA Plan to Revise Soot Standards Primes Groups for Challenges

Legal challenges are on the horizon for incoming particulate matter standards that are likely to increase clean air requirements for states struggling to control pollution for millions of Americans, attorneys and industry watchers say.

The Environmental Protection Agency is weighing whether to tighten National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM 2.5, also known as particulate matter or soot, in a move that would be in line with Clean Air Act science advisory recommendations to boost to levels that more adequately protect public health.

Environmental groups and public health experts have called for more protective levels, but some industry stakeholders and ...