County Air Pollution Control District plans to sue EPA

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) announced today its intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over what it called the EPA’s failure to regulate pollution from large ship engines, as required under the federal Clean Air Act.

“Ships passing through the Santa Barbara Channel produce many tons of air pollution off our coast, threatening our air quality. We have called on the EPA repeatedly to issue regulations without success. Litigation is always the last resort, but we have exhausted our other options,” said APCD Director Terry Dressler in a prepared statement.

According to APCD’s announcement, the notice of intent to file a Clean Air Act Citizen Suit was sent to the EPA on Thursday. The notice is the required first step in the process; a lawsuit can then be filed 60 days after the initial notice of intent to sue.

Dressler noted that the lawsuit might not be filed if the EPA takes action in the next 60 days.