A federal appeals court has upheld an Environmental Protection Agency decision that Rusk and Panola counties do not meet national air quality standards for sulfur dioxide.

From Staff Reports

A federal appeals court has upheld an Environmental Protection Agency decision that Rusk and Panola counties do not meet national air quality standards for sulfur dioxide.

Texas and Martin Lake coal plant owner Luminant had argued that the air quality in the two counties was not bad enough to warrant the EPA’s “nonattainment” designation.

However, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the federal agency.

The decision came a lawsuit against the EPA in early 2023 claiming the agency failed to hold the Martin Lake plant to regulations required under the Clean Air Act.

The plant is in Rusk County, southwest of Tatum.

“The Fifth Circuit decision is welcome news because it cements EPA’s obligation to impose permanent and enforceable emission reductions at the Martin Lake coal plant — the biggest sulfur dioxide polluter in the entire U.S.,” said Josh Smith, a Sierra Club attorney who helped lead the case. “This will help ensure that the communities surrounding the coal plant can soon enjoy lower levels of pollution and come into attainment with national air quality standards.”

The court’s decision requires the Martin Lake plant to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide air pollution.

“This decision confirms that sulfur dioxide pollution from the Martin Lake plant exceeds national air quality standards,” said Lisa Perfetto, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Pursuant to a settlement agreement, EPA has until the end of this year to issue a federal plan or approve a Texas plan to reduce pollution and bring the area surrounding the Martin Lake plant into compliance. Too long have East Texas communities been forced to breathe polluted air.”

The EPA made its original Rusk and Panola nonattainment designation for the 2010 sulfur dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards based on data supplied by the Sierra Club. According to Smith, numerous modeling analyses conducted using Martin Lake’s own data demonstrated that the plant’s pollution causes unhealthy air, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular illness throughout East Texas.

In a separate case, the Sierra Club has negotiated a settlement with EPA requiring the agency to either issue a federal plan or approve a state plan by the end of 2024 that will lay out how Rusk and Panola counties will achieve reduced pollution and how the Martin Lake plant will bring down emissions.

The Fifth Circuit opinion was necessary to affirm this settlement and a requirement for EPA’s authority to issue a federal clean-up plan, according to the Sierra Club.