Groups Seek First-Time SIP Enforcement Via Novel Civil Rights Complaint

Environmentalists have filed a precedent-setting civil rights complaint asking EPA to take action against California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to enforce Clean Air Act-mandated fees for areas in severe ozone nonattainment. The March 6 Title VI petition -- filed by Earthjustice on behalf of Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and others -- is just the latest action citing the civil rights law as a mechanism to enforce state implementation plan (SIP) requirements, though this is the...