Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit Lawsuit

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published notice of a proposed consent decree in Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Zeldin, No. 3:25-cv-08994-WHO, in the Federal Register on October 22, 2026, at 91 FR 66698. Written comments must be received by November 23, 2026. The decree would resolve a Clean Air Act citizen suit alleging that the EPA missed nondiscretionary deadlines to act on California state implementation plan submissions. The notice does not state that any court has approved the decree.

At a glance

• EPA document number 2026-21609 ran as a Notice in the Federal Register on October 22, 2026, at 91 FR 66698 through 66699.
• The case is Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Zeldin, No. 3:25-cv-08994-WHO.
• The complaint was filed on October 19, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
• The comment docket is EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077, with written comments due November 23, 2026.
• The decree would resolve all claims in the case by setting deadlines for the EPA to take final actions.

What the EPA notice actually does

The document is a notice of a proposed consent decree, coupled with a request for public comment. It does not itself impose any deadline on the EPA. It announces that the agency and the plaintiff have agreed on a draft that would settle the litigation, and it opens a window for the public to respond before the agency finalizes its position.

The notice appears at 91 FR 66698 and runs two pages. The Federal Register assigned it document number 2026-21609, docket identifier EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077, and the form label FRL-13669-01-OGC. The agency listed is the Environmental Protection Agency.

The supporting documents in the docket are titled “Our Childrens Earth Foundation Proposed Consent Decree” (document EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077-0002) and “OCEF v. Zeldin Final Version Consent Decree 10-22-2026” (document EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077-0003). Both titles appear in the agency docket record as filed.

What is established vs. what is alleged

The allegation belongs to the plaintiff. According to the EPA’s abstract, Our Children’s Earth Foundation alleged that the EPA failed to perform certain nondiscretionary duties under the Clean Air Act, as amended, to respond timely to numerous state implementation plan (SIP) submissions from the State of California. A SIP is a state’s plan for meeting national air quality standards under the Act. The notice records the allegation; it does not record a court finding that the EPA violated the statute.

The established facts are narrower and procedural. The complaint was filed on October 19, 2025, in the Northern District of California. The agency has published a proposed decree and is accepting comments. The decree, if entered, would set deadlines for the EPA to take final actions as specified in the decree.

The EPA describes the duties at issue as nondiscretionary, meaning the agency treats the obligation to act as mandatory rather than a matter of choice. That characterization comes from the agency’s own notice language and is not a judicial ruling.

Where the claims stand procedurally

The claims are pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, under case number 3:25-cv-08994-WHO, as reflected in the EPA’s October 22, 2026 notice. The matter is proceeding as an individual Clean Air Act citizen suit, not as a consolidated multidistrict proceeding. The source record shows no MDL number because no multidistrict consolidation exists here; an MDL is a mechanism for pooling related federal cases before one judge, and none is mentioned in the notice.

No trial date appears in the record. No appellate proceeding appears in the record. The only deadline the notice states is the comment deadline of November 23, 2026.

The civil action reach of this notice is limited to one plaintiff, one defendant official, and one set of California SIP submissions. Readers tracking how Clean Air Act citizen suits interact with agency rulemaking may find the site’s page on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Lime Manufacturing Plants useful for context on EPA air program documents, and the page on additions to Clean Air Act Sections 111, 112 and 129 applicability determinations for related air program updates.

Key dates

• October 19, 2025: Our Children’s Earth Foundation filed its complaint in the Northern District of California.
• October 22, 2026: The EPA published the proposed consent decree notice at 91 FR 66698 and opened the comment docket.
• November 23, 2026: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received, per the notice’s dates field.
• November 24, 2026: The regulations.gov docket record lists this as the comment end date for EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077-0001.

The Federal Register dates field and the regulations.gov docket record differ by one day on the comment cutoff, and both are reproduced here as filed.

How to read a proposed consent decree

A consent decree is a settlement agreement entered as a court order. Before it becomes binding, the agency typically publishes the proposal so the public can comment. The EPA notice states that the decree would resolve all claims in the case by establishing deadlines for the EPA to take final actions as specified in the decree.

Comments go to docket EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077 through regulations.gov. The notice identifies the comment submission page as EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077-0001.

Settlements in environmental cases can take several forms, and court approval is not automatic. The site’s overview of the AFFF PFAS firefighting foam litigation illustrates how a multi-party environmental matter is structured by contrast, while the Clean Water Act hazardous substance facility response plans compliance page covers a separate federal environmental program.

What this does not establish

The record does not show that the court has entered the decree. The notice calls it proposed.

The record does not identify which specific California SIP submissions are at issue, how many submissions are involved, or what the individual deadlines in the decree are. It says only that deadlines exist as specified in the decree text.

The record does not show that the EPA admitted any violation. The notice describes an allegation and a settlement proposal.

The record does not show whether any public comments have been filed. The regulations.gov docket record listed a comment count of zero at the time the Federal Register data was captured.

The record does not show a trial date, a class certification, an appeal, or a damages claim. Citizen suits under the Clean Air Act of this kind seek to compel agency action; the notice frames the relief as deadlines for final actions.

The record does not show that any air quality outcome will change. It describes deadlines for agency action only.

Frequently asked questions

What is the proposed consent decree in Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Zeldin?

The Environmental Protection Agency published notice on October 22, 2026, of a proposed consent decree in Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Zeldin, No. 3:25-cv-08994-WHO, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The decree would resolve all claims in the case by setting deadlines for the EPA to take final actions on California state implementation plan submissions. The notice requests public comment through November 23, 2026.

Who commented and by when in the EPA docket EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077?

Members of the public may submit written comments on the proposed consent decree, and the Federal Register dates field sets the deadline as November 23, 2026. The regulations.gov docket record for EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9077-0001 lists a comment end date of November 24, 2026. The notice is identified as document 2026-21609 at 91 FR 66698.

What did Our Children’s Earth Foundation allege against the EPA?

Our Children’s Earth Foundation alleged that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to perform certain nondiscretionary duties under the Clean Air Act to respond timely to numerous state implementation plan submissions from the State of California. The foundation filed its complaint on October 19, 2025, in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. The allegation is recorded in the EPA notice and has not been decided by the court according to the record.

Is this case part of an MDL?

No. The source record shows the case proceeding as an individual Clean Air Act citizen suit under No. 3:25-cv-08994-WHO in the Northern District of California, with no multidistrict litigation number or consolidation referenced. An MDL is a procedure that pools related federal cases before one judge for pretrial proceedings. The EPA notice describes only this single case.

Sources

1. Federal Register (Environmental Protection Agency): “Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit” (link, accessed 2026-11-03)
2. Federal Register: “All Documents” API listing (link, accessed 2026-11-03)
3. Federal Register: “Agencies” API listing (link, accessed 2026-11-03)
4. Federal Register: “Documents of type Rule” API listing (link, accessed 2026-11-03)
5. Federal Register: “Documents of type Notice” API listing (link, accessed 2026-11-03)
6. Federal Register: “Documents of type Proposed Rule” API listing (link, accessed 2026-11-03)