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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the United States Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold the Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2024 rule strengthening the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), also known as soot.
The rule was challenged by a coalition of states, as well as a coalition of industry and business entities, that asked the Court to strike down the updated soot standard. Attorney General Brown joined a coalition in intervening in the lawsuit to defend the standard. After the Trump administration came into office, its EPA reversed position and also asked the Court to strike down the 2024 standard. As the case was pending, the 2024 standard has remained in effect. However, the Trump administration EPA has failed to implement the standard, prompting Attorney General Brown and a multistate coalition to file a separate lawsuit against them, which is currently ongoing.
“Soot pollution shortens lifespans, triggers asthma attacks in children, and sends Marylanders to emergency rooms,” said Attorney General Brown. “This decision upholds the standards that protect Marylanders from these dangerous pollutants.”
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to set NAAQS for several pollutants, including soot, at levels that protect public health and welfare. The standards do not control emissions from any particular sources; once the NAAQS are set, states are tasked with implementing those standards. Reductions in soot are associated with decreases in the risk of mortality and increases in life expectancy. In 2024, in response to advocacy from California and others, the Biden-era EPA strengthened the soot NAAQS based on overwhelming scientific evidence.
According to its own estimates, the EPA has reported that the first year alone of full attainment of the 2024 soot NAAQS will result in significant public health benefits, including avoiding 4,500 premature deaths, 2,000 emergency room visits, 5,700 new cases of asthma, 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms, 290,000 lost workdays, and 1,000 hospital admissions for Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s diseases. The value of these and other health benefits would outweigh the estimated costs of implementation by $46 billion.
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