Class Action Lawsuit filed against EPA over El Paso air quality

The Chamizal Families of El Paso are demanding accountability from EPA. This morning Familias Unidas del Chamizal joined the City of Sunland Park and the Sierra Club in a class-action lawsuit against the EPA. They claim that the EPA violated the Clean Air Act by failing to list El Paso as a non-attainment area for ozone levels.

Ozone is described as being ‘smog’, which is a dangerous air pollutant that contributes to serious health problems.

Represented by David Baake, who is an attorney for the petitioners, the group hopes to reverse the EPA’s decision. According to Baake, pollution monitors located at UTEP, reported unsafe levels of smog in each of the last three years. Baake’s plan is to require El Paso to adopt new technologies to reduce emissions, and improve health outcomes for El Paso residents.

Sunland Park, which neighbors El Paso, has been designated as non-attainment or unsafe. Javier Perea, The Mayor of Sunland Park is confused by the designations saying he does not understand how his city is deemed unsafe while El Paso is deemed safe when all the residents share the same air. He feels it is unfair to his city.

Hilda Villegas, a member of Familias Unidas de Chamizal said, “According to the Clean Air Act, the EPA is obligated to designate a city as being a non-attainment area if that city is a major contributor to an area that is classified as a non-attainment area. Sunland Park has been identified as being a non-attainment area. Why then is the EPA neglecting its obligation set out by the Clean Air Act? If the EPA continues to relieve El Paso from its responsibility, we will never be able to address how pollution is affecting families in the Chamizal,” said Villegas. She also is also worried about the health of the children saying, “Our children greatly suffer because of that pollution, we have children with asthma, and we also have children who have different diseases and it only makes it worse.

According o the EPA website, the acceptable amount of Ozone pollution is 70 parts per billion. The EPA reports El Paso meets the standard, but the lawsuit claims the numbers have been doctored.

Attorney David Baake, who represents the petitioners said, “looking at the analysis, what EPA has done looked like it was more politically motivated than really based on the science.” Baake claims a 2015 letter from the governor asked the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for an exception, which allowed on of the highest ozone readings to e dropped from the report. Baake claims this changed El Paso’s status from unsafe to safe. I reached out to the TCEQ, but they failed to respond by deadline.

According to the lawsuit, Ciudad Juarez and the City of El Paso make up 75% of the pollution, so it doesn’t make sense to Baake or Mayor Perea that Sunland Park’s air quality is rated as unsafe and El Paso’s isn’t. Baake saying, “Immediately as someone who lives in this area, it made no sense to me, because obviously we share the same air.” Mayor Parea agreed saying “There is no difference in the air between the two area’s here. Studies have shown that a major part of the pollution is coming from El Paso and Juarez so to have different designations is unfair to us and our community.”

We went to the city for their thoughts on the lawsuits claims that El Paso should take responsibility. Karl Rimkus, Environmental Compliance Manager, told us that the City of El Paso is not responsible for the designations, and that El Paso does everything that is required of them by law. He said “Pollution in one jurisdiction can often affect other’s as well because as the wind blows everyone is affected by it.” He said, ” Currently El Paso is in attainment status for ozone, so that’s pretty much the role the city plays, we don’t have any direct regulatory control over whether we’re in attainment or not in attainment.”

Karl told ABC 7 that the city only collects air quality data and reports it to the state, who then delivers it to the EPA for analysis.

We reached out to the EPA for their response to the lawsuit, and they failed to respond by deadline.

David Baake said the lawsuit could take over a year to resolve.