Input Stories

EPA Warns States of “Non-Attainment” Status, Seeks to Change Rules

By NAM NewsroomOctober 8, 2026

Vast swaths of states, U.S. territories and tribal lands could soon be in “nonattainment” with the previous administration’s strict federal limit for fine particulate matters (PM2.5) under the Clean Air Act—even as the current Environmental Protection Agency fights the tighter designations, it announced this month (Inside EPA, subscription).

What’s going on: “EPA Oct. 2 announced that it had sent letters to all 50 states as well as territories and tribes informing them of initial monitoring and other data that indicate whether areas within their jurisdictions could be in nonattainment with the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5.”

  • The In 2024, the Biden EPA lowered the PM2.5 NAAQS from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to an unworkable 9.
  • Last week, the administration filed a Supreme Court brief joining “a broad coalition of States and associations in urging the Justices to review the 2024 standard” that includes the NAM and “acknowledging that the 2024 PM2.5 NAAQS did not comply with statutory requirements” (EPA.org).
  • “According to a preliminary review, only 14 states — Connecticut, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia — were found to have no data showing exceedances and were slated to be found in attainment with the standard,” Inside EPA reported. 

Why it’s happening: The notice is “required by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which sided with environmentalists and states led by California to set [a] Feb. 6 deadline for EPA to complete the area designations rulemaking.”

  • The administration is appealing that ruling.
  • On Tuesday, it published a notice in the Federal Register giving 30 days for public comment on its “intended approach for area designations.”

The NAM’s role: Manufacturers have pushed back on the tightened air quality standards since before they were finalized.

  • Last month, the NAM and seven leading business groups filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review and reverse a lower court’s decision allowing the stricter standard.
  • The NAM also recently unveiled its interactive “Investments and PM2.5 Standards” map showing the high number and dollar value of manufacturer investments in areas of “nonattainment.”

The NAM’s take: “Manufacturers warned against implementing the 2024 PM2.5 standard and now we are seeing the potential consequences,” the NAM posted to X on Monday.

  • “The majority of U.S. states are currently in nonattainment with this unworkable standard, threatening the future of manufacturing investments across the nation.”