Shutdown Likely To Delay EPA Decisions On Revising SO2, Other NAAQS

EPA appears poised to miss a Jan. 28 consent decree deadline for signing a final rule on whether to revise the “primary” health-based sulfur dioxide national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) due to the government shutdown, potentially signaling delays for looming decisions on revising other criteria pollutant NAAQS. The decree “gives EPA an automatic extension” on the deadline for lapses in appropriations such as the shutdown, says an environmentalist. “This delay matters greatly to people who are adversely impacted by...