Do the legal protections apply to state laws, citizen suits, other civil laws or criminal liability?
No, the terms of the agreement only directly apply to federal enforcement of the air laws in the past and during the course of the study period. However, the structure of the consent agreement is believed by some in the legal community to create strong legal protections for participants who may have to defend citizen suits, or state and civil lawsuits, based on alleged emissions violations covered during the period of the agreement. The agreement does not release participants from criminal liability, and does not prevent EPA from acting in situations that may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, welfare or the environment.
