EPA Sued Over Los Angeles Smog

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal lawsuit says the Environmental Protection Agency failed to force officials to crack down on Los Angeles smog.

Clean air advocates, including Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Natural Resources Defense Council, say in Monday's suit that the EPA missed a May deadline to certify whether ozone levels are hazardous to public health.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, Congress established a one-hour standard for ozone pollution.

The Los Angeles Times says the South Coast Air Quality Management District would have a year to submit a clean up plan if the EPA rules the region doesn't meet national standards.

A similar suit filed in Fresno seeks to force the EPA into bringing air quality in the polluted San Joaquin Valley up to national standards.

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