Court Finds Bush Era Ozone Standards Fail to Meet Legal Requirements to Protect Forests; Upholds Health Standard

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–July 23, 2013. A federal appeals court today held that smog standards adopted during the Bush administration do not assure protection of forests and vegetation from ozone damage as the law requires. The court’s judgment found that in 2008 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Clean Air Act when it refused to set protective standards and ignored the unanimous recommendation of its independent science advisors. However, the decision also upholds a health standard that these same scientific advisors had found failed to protect public health.