A group of health and environmental advocates has sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to enforce air-pollution protections in 30 large cities across the country.

The lawsuit, filed by Earthjustice, claims the agency did not enforce its own regulations to reduce toxic ozone levels. The cities, including Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas, all rank among the most polluted in the country.

The Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah, also known as HEAL Utah, is a plaintiff in the suit. Executive Director Lexi Tuddenham said nothing is getting done while communities and natural areas along the Wasatch Range continue to endure toxic air pollution.

"This particular suit came to our attention," said Tuddenham, "and we decided to become a part of it because it directly affects the way we, as Utahns, can live our lives, and the way that we not only can, site businesses and have economic opportunities, but just basic quality of life."

The EPA missed a February deadline to certify whether the cities had met standards set forth in the 2015 Clean Air Act. Other plaintiffs include Downwinders at Risk, The Alliance of Nurses for Clean Environments and the Sierra Club.

Tuddenham said while the area's year-round "brown cloud" affects everyone in the region, it falls hardest on low-income areas and communities of color.

"We also know that people need to be protected," said Tuddenham, "and that the communities that are most affected within that change need to have access to the resources that they need to continue to live their lives."

She said while cities and the states are also responsible for enforcing clean-air regulations, federal intervention is needed to bring those in noncompliance up to standards.

"The EPA is the standard and the backbone for what needs to happen," said Tuddenham. "And without them enforcing their own rules, essentially, and sticking to their own timeline, we can't move forward."

The American Lung Association ranks the Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas among those with the highest levels of toxic ozone, with Salt Lake and Phoenix also among the worst for particulate pollution.

Although President Joe Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, many are hoping he will declare a climate emergency to provide further funding. It would allow for additional provisions to fight the effects of climate change and reduce fossil-fuel usage in the U.S.

New York State has been seeing the effects of climate change firsthand since 45 counties, or three quarters of the state, are currently under a drought watch. Although this is the mildest of the four drought advisories, there are concerns climate change might only exacerbate future drought conditions in the state.

Dominic Frongillo, executive director of Elected Officials to Protect America, believes declaring a climate emergency is a major necessity.

"What declaring a climate emergency will allow President Biden to do is to halt crude exports for crude oil, stop offshore oil and gas drilling, restrict international investment in fossil fuels, and to be able to accelerate the manufacturing and the homegrown jobs here in the United States in an investment to ramp up renewable-energy production," Frongillo outlined.

Currently, 1,000 elected officials across the U.S. have signed a letter urging a climate emergency be declared. A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021, asking President Biden to declare a climate emergency, but has been languishing in committee.

While the Inflation Reduction Act is one of the largest investments in fighting climate change, Frongillo feels the shortfalls cancel out the benefits. One instance he cited is how investment in fossil fuels can continue despite moving to renewable energy. He sees the bill as a great success but believes it helps oil and gas companies too much.

"By opening up public lands for leasing, and because the fossil-fuel industry is primarily responsible for the climate crisis, is driving the climate crisis; we need a clear and strong plan to get America off fossil fuels, to lead the world in phasing out fossil fuels," Frongillo urged.

Frongillo is optimistic about the new law being a catalyst for a bigger leap to renewable resources. However, without Biden declaring a climate emergency, he feels the U.S. might not reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50%.

A federal court's decision to require the Department of Interior to consider the potential health and climate impacts of coal mining on public lands could finally give sovereign tribes in Wyoming a seat at the table.

Connie Wilbert, director of the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, said until now, federal agencies just paid lip service to concerns raised by tribes about impacts to drinking water, air quality and their way of life.

"This is a big step towards requiring much more serious consideration and full disclosure of all of the impacts that coal leasing on federal land will have on tribes," Wilbert contended.

Coal industry groups warned the decision would put a question mark on future plans. The ruling reinstates a moratorium on federal coal leasing established under the Obama administration, a pause intended to give agencies time to investigate the cumulative impacts of coal mining. The moratorium has been opposed by industry groups and state officials concerned about possible lost jobs and tax revenues.

Wilbert argued getting off coal will be far less expensive than the financial and human costs brought on by more frequent and intense wildfires, floods and prolonged drought. She believes the way to help workers and communities dependent on the fossil-fuel industry is not to pretend climate change is not happening.

"It's to find ways to change our economy, our economic activity in this state and other states, in ways that aren't so harmful to us all," Wilbert asserted.

Coal operators hold enough leases to continue mining through the next decade, but according to a 2021 analysis, 90% of coal must remain in the ground in order to avert the worst-case projections of leading scientists.

Wilbert emphasized recent court rulings, along with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in Congress to boost clean energy production, makes it obvious the age of coal is coming to an end.

"We have to stop using fossil fuels as an energy source as quickly as we can to avert the worst of climate change," Wilbert stressed. "We don't need to start 10 years from now, we need to start today."

Congress has passed legislation making the largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history.

It has grassroots organizations like Northern Plains Resource Council ecstatic.

Joanie Kresich, board chair of the Council, which represents family agriculture in Montana, said the Inflation Reduction Act is historic for the groups pushing for action on climate change.

"We've never wavered from a vision for a clean energy future, and we feel that vision is within reach now," Kresich asserted. "It's really exciting: Finally, after decades of hope, to have real legislation that's going to help us do what we need to do."

The bill the U.S. House passed over the weekend was slimmed down, compared to earlier versions of the legislation. But it still includes $370 billion for clean-energy programs and is estimated to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 40% by 2030. The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans saying it only expands the deficit and size of government.

Kresich noted the legislation also invests in farmers and ranchers. She pointed out they are on the front lines of climate change and depend on a reliable climate for their work.

"Now we're going to get some really significant federal help, and that's really exciting," Kresich emphasized.

Kresich stressed the changing climate is affecting Montana, and pointed to the recent flooding on the Yellowstone River, which destroyed houses in places like Livingston.

"The kind of damage that happened is a reminder of why we're doing this," Kresich explained. "Why we're trying to make this transition to a clean-energy future."