LAWSUIT MAY TEST USE OF VOLUNTARY CONTROLS AS AIR PLAN 'BACKSTOPS'

A lawsuit over a California air district's plans for meeting EPA's particulate matter (PM) standards may prompt a separate, first-time lawsuit over whether and how air districts can include voluntary diesel retrofit programs as emergency "backstops" in their plans for meeting the agency's air quality standards, activists say. Earthjustice filed suit Jan. 6 in an attempt to force EPA to take action on California's San Joaquin Air Valley state implementation plan (SIP), which details how the state intends to meet...