EPA’s Use of Old Data For Ozone Attainment Valid, D.C. Cir. Says

Weld County, Colo., failed to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday, finding that the US Environmental Protection Agency lawfully relied on older data when making the assessment.

The same panel reversed the EPA’s nonattainment finding for El Paso, Tex., as the statutory deadline for that city to attain the standard passed three months before the agency made the designation.

The US Environmental Protection Agency had designated Weld County and El Paso as areas that successfully attained 2015 ozone pollution standards in 2018. But the agency reversed the designations after the US Court of ...