On October 26, 2015, the U.S. EPA published new, more stringent
ozone standards of 70 ppm, opening the 60-day window of opportunity
to file lawsuits seeking review of the new rule. On the same day,
Murray Energy Corp., the largest mining company in the United
States, filed a Petition for Judicial Review (Petition) with the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The EPA has
estimated that the new National Ambient Air Quality Standard for
ground level ozone would cost as much as $1.4 billion annually to
meet the new, tighter standards.
The Petition does not provide the legal rationale for any
litigation; however, in comments made by Murray during the public
comment period preceding the final promulgation of the rule, Murray
expressed concern that the new, tighter ozone standard is close to
background levels in many areas of the country, and thus, not
attainable through regulations.
