9/11 SUIT MAY BOOST PUSH FOR GREATER EPA DISASTER RESPONSE ROLE

A federal court ruling earlier this month allowing a class action suit against EPA to proceed over the agency's actions immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks may bolster arguments that EPA is required to reduce environmental risks following disasters even when those threats fall outside its traditional authorities, such as widespread indoor health risks from Hurricane Katrina. Most notably, environmentalists have long criticized EPA's assertion that it lacks statutory authority to regulate indoor air -- and therefore building interiors --...