CBF Statement on Defending EPA’s Good Neighbor Rule Before the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Feb. 21 from states and industry groups trying to stop EPA from implementing its “Good Neighbor” rule. The rule requires upwind states to control ozone pollution that crosses state lines, which prevents downwind states from complying with federal air quality standards. 

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), a key ingredient in ozone pollution, contribute roughly one-third of nitrogen pollution degrading water quality in the Bay and its tributaries. Better known as smog, ground-level ozone is also a dangerous pollutant that is especially harmful to children, senior citizens, and people with heart and lung conditions. 

Air pollution from anywhere in the Bay’s 570,000 square-mile airshed ultimately endangers the health of the Bay, its waterways, and the more than 18 million people living in the Bay watershed. The airshed stretches from South Carolina north to Canada, and as far west as Indiana. 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is represented by Earthjustice, and part of a coalition of environmental and public health groups that has been working to defend the Good Neighbor rule since it came out in June 2023.  

Ariel Solaski, CBF Director of Litigation, issued this statement about the case: 

“The health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the people living in its watershed depends on clean air. This assault on the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan puts public health at risk and undermines the progress being made restoring the Bay and its tributaries.”