The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is inching closer to removing a 50-year-old rule that Ohioans have used to combat air pollution.
The proposal is currently open to comments from residents. At a meeting Monday, some took the opportunity to push back on the change.
It’s often referred to as the air nuisance rule, and it can be found in Ohio’s state implementation plan (SIP) of the Clean Air Act. Local governments and Ohio residents have used it to enforce the federal law for decades.
The rule defines air pollution as a public nuisance and allows Ohioans to file federal lawsuits against companies whose emissions they claim jeopardize air quality.
Ohio’s budget bill, which passed earlier this year, directed the Ohio EPA to try to remove this rule from the plan.
“Over time it has become clear that the ANR [Air Nuisance Rule] has not been used and is not needed for attainment or maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS),” the Ohio EPA wrote in its draft demonstration. “Over the years, many states have removed their respective ANR as part of the SIP.”
Removal of the rule has received backing from some U.S. legislators and industry stakeholders. The U.S. EPA has already removed the rule once before, but it was reinstated earlier this year.
Two Southwest Ohio residents spoke at Monday’s hearing.
Cincinnati-area resident Marilyn Wall said she’s helped local Ohio communities use the rule to enforce air quality standards where the Ohio EPA wouldn’t.
“Without the air nuisance rule available to citizens, polluters will be free to deluge fence line communities with air pollution. It's time for Ohio officials to hear the voices of Ohio communities and not just the polluters,” Wall said.
“Without the air nuisance rule available to citizens, polluters will be free to deluge fence line communities with air pollution. It's time for Ohio officials to hear the voices of Ohio communities and not just the polluters."
Wall and Middletown resident Donna Ballinger filed an appeal in 2022 after the rule was removed from the SIP back in 2020. The pair claimed that its removal “deprived [them] of the ability to pursue relief from this continuing pollution.”
Ballinger lives near a steel mill and industrial coke oven, which can be sources of air emissions. She described the impact of the 2020 removal at the hearing.
“We sent a letter saying we are going to file a citizen suit for the violations of the air nuisance rule,” Ballinger explained. “The state blocked my lawsuit by entering into a consent decree with the Middletown [steelworks], but the pollution never did stop.”
She hopes to once again attempt to use the air nuisance rule to give her relief.
“Ohio EPA has not stopped the pollution even though I call them nearly every day,” she said. “I need to have the air nuisance rule available so I can use it to protect me, my family and my community.”
The Ohio EPA is seeking comments on its proposed plan to remove the air nuisance rule. The deadline for submission is Sept. 22. Once the comments are considered, the Ohio EPA will then submit the requested revision to the U.S. EPA.
The Ohio EPA says that state regulations similar to the air nuisance rule will remain. But they will not allow for citizens to file federal lawsuits for enforcement:
“Although state law does not allow third-party lawsuits like the federal Clean Air Act, under Ohio Law citizens can file a Verified Complaint if they believe there are violations of Ohio EPA rules,” Ohio EPA spokesperson Bryant Somerville wrote in an email.
“Under the Verified Complaint provisions, Ohio EPA is obligated to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any alleged violations.”
