Environmental Organizations File Lawsuit Against EPA To Hold Oklahoma Accountable For Missed Deadline

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in hot water after failing to hold states accountable for pollution reduction. 

Environmental Activists said it’s the EPA’s job to make sure all states follow the Clean Air Act. 

“I’m sad it’s come to this because I don’t think we are asking for a lot we are just asking for the law to be followed,” said Cheyenne Branscum, the Oklahoma Sierra Club Chapter Chair. 

After months without action, the Sierra Club of Oklahoma along with other environmental organizations are taking a stand. 

“In January the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality had said that the plan was coming, and we hoped that meant that it was coming with a public comment period, and it didn’t,” said Branscum. 

Oklahoma is one of many states that failed to submit their Pollution Reduction plan to the EPA. 

“Each state has to file a plan essentially for how they plan to get pollution out of the air that not only get into our body and causes us to be unhealthy, but it also causes visibility issues in our national parks,” she said. 

The EPA now mandated to act in a federal lawsuit. 

“The EPA can also just create a plan and give it to states like Oklahoma that are not in compliance,” said the Oklahoma Sierra Club Chapter Chair. 

When asked about the lawsuit the DEQ said they don’t comment on pending litigation but issued the following statement about the Pollution Reduction Plan: 

“DEQ is actively revising its Regional Haze State Implementation Plan draft based on the required Federal Land Manager review and comments received from EPA. The next step will be to submit the plan for public notice and comment. During this time, a public hearing will also be held, the date for which will be announced when the public comment period begins.  

DEQ has been working on developing its regional haze plan for the past few years. The process is a lengthy endeavor that involves complex modeling and analysis as well as coordination with EPA, Federal Land Managers, and neighboring states. DEQ is working continuously to finalize the plan for public comment and expects it to be published for public comment mid-year 2022.” 

According to Branscum, Oklahoma can still submit the plan and she hopes it is finished in the coming months. 

“We don’t want to spend our times in the courts we would rather these things be taken care of,” she said. 

The DEQ did not say why they missed the deadline. We reached out to the EPA several times about the lawsuit and have not heard back.