White House sued over ozone rules

last updated 8 January 2015

Environmental groups sued the Obama administration this week over its decision to scrap planned limits on ozone pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency had developed tighter standards on smog, but the White House abandoned those plans last month, saying they would create “needless uncertainty” for businesses in the struggling economy. Environmentalists accused the White House of catering to business interests in order to win support for the 2012 re-election campaign. “Instead of protecting people’s lungs as the law requires, this administration based its decision on politics,” said an attorney for Earthjustice, one of the groups that brought the suit.