"EPA, facing a tight court-ordered deadline, has sent a proposal to the White House budget office that appears geared to addressing the remaining "good neighbor" obligations for its 2008 ground-level ozone standard.
The agency forwarded the proposed rule yesterday to the Office of Management and Budget for a standard review, according to the Reginfo.gov site. That step came less than a week after a federal judge ruled in favor of New York and Connecticut in their lawsuit charging that the agency was illegally overdue in imposing federal plans to curb upwind emissions that are allegedly making it harder for the New York City metro area to meet the 2008 ozone standard of 75 parts per billion (E&E News PM, June 13).
In the order, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York gave EPA until June 29 to sign off on a proposal for addressing those upwind emissions from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The final version is due by Dec. 6, under Koeltl's order."
