EPA is poised to get another four years to complete a slow-moving review of its primary ambient air quality standards for nitrogen oxides, a dangerous class of pollutants closely linked to emissions from coal-burning industries and the internal combustion engine.
After launching the assessment in late 2022, the agency would have to make a final decision by November 2028 on whether changes to the existing limits are warranted, according to a summary of the terms of a proposed lawsuit settlement released Wednesday.
Before that point, EPA would also have to issue a new roundup of relevant research into the health effects of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by September 2026 and then sign off on its proposed decision by January 2028, the summary says.
The tentative deal still needs the approval of U.S. District Judge Rita Lin of the Northern District of California following a routine 30-day public comment period. It would end a lawsuit brought last September by the Center for Biological Diversity and two other groups alleging that EPA was already behind a Clean Air Act timetable for completing the review.
