After three decades of steady progress towards cleaner and healthier air, Americans face a real and present threat that this progress will reverse, that polluters will be let off the hook, and that more of our kids will suffer from debilitating asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, increased respiratory symptoms and disease, decreased lung function, and even premature death.

Our Children's Earth believes that our nations laws are some of the world's most protective standards for reducing dangerous air pollution. The form of the threat, however, is as basic as it is destructive-our clean air laws simply are not being enforced. From EPA consent decrees that turn a blind eye to major Clean Air Act violations, to regional air districts that rubber-stamp pollution permits whenever requested by individual polluters, our nation's clean air laws are being misinterpreted, circumvented, or simply ignored.

Current Cases

Completed Cases

One of OCE's primary objectives is to ensure Clean Air Act enforcement nationwide through strategic litigation against polluters and ineffective government enforcement entities. Through successful completion of these cases, we aim to create a road map for citizen enforcement of air quality laws at the local, state, and federal levels.

The best practices and legal precedents we establish through our current projects are designed for replication by other organizations throughout the country. OCE's ultimate goal is to build the framework for citizen oversight and enforcement activity for air pollution that now exists for water pollution in the clean water permit citizen suit community.

Access to air pollution information is an essential building block for an effective oversight and enforcement program. OCE is working to ensure that all necessary information and tools for citizen suit work are available to the public. These tools include access to air quality laws, access to government agency compliance information, and proper permitting by agencies to provide a meaningful enforcement mechanism. Another essential building block for an effective enforcement road map is a track record of successful cases enforcing improper government activities or illegal pollution.

OCE projects and lawsuits intend to establish and/or strengthen the building blocks discussed above. Our cases aim to achieve the specific outcomes listed below:

Ensure public access to air quality laws and government information.
Ensure proper air pollution control program implementation by government agencies.
Ensure proper air pollution permitting by government agencies.
Enforce illegal pollution violations.

We have already made a difference in the Bay Area and California through our completed litigation efforts, and continue to pursue efforts to enforce the Clean Air Act both in California and nationwide with our current cases.

Questions? - Email: tiffany@ocefoundation.org - © Copyright 2012 OCE