Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, alongside a coalition of 11 other attorneys general and local governments, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to implement updated air quality standards.
The legal action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks a court order to compel the EPA to follow through on a 2024 Clean Air Act rule regarding fine particulate matter, commonly referred to as soot.
The 2024 rule strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for soot, a pollutant generated by vehicles, factories, and construction sites. Due to the microscopic size of these particles, inhalation can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, asthma, and cancer.
EPA data suggests that meeting these standards would prevent an estimated 4,500 premature deaths and 5,700 new cases of asthma annually, with the economic benefits of improved public health projected to outweigh implementation costs by $46 billion.
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“The EPA needs to do its job. There is nothing more vital to public health than the safety of the air we breathe. EPA needs to stop pandering to corporate polluters and fulfill its basic obligations under the Clean Air Act,” Attorney General Tong stated.
The lawsuit focuses on a missed regulatory deadline. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to designate specific geographic areas as being in “nonattainment” if they do not meet the updated safety standards.
This designation is a necessary step that allows states to develop and enforce plans to reduce pollution levels. According to the filing, the EPA missed the February 2025 deadline to make these designations, effectively stalling the implementation of the new standards.
While the 2024 soot standards are currently the subject of separate litigation from various industry groups and Republican-led states seeking to overturn them, the rules remain in effect.
The current lawsuit, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, argues that the EPA’s inaction prevents states from utilizing the tools needed to lower pollution, particularly in high-risk communities.
The coalition, which includes New York, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, is requesting that the court order the EPA to complete the required designations within 150 days.
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