Jay Benforado, Board Chair, Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences
On September 5th, AAPS submitted an amicus brief (available below) to support a May 2025 lawsuit challenging a 2024 Louisiana law that restricts community air monitoring.
AAPS has been tracking this legislative process, first formally commenting on it in December of 2024. The impacts of the law are significant, and the implications for the field of participatory sciences are concerning (i.e., other states enacting similar laws, future restrictions on other environmental monitoring like water quality, etc.). This has already had a chilling effect on community air monitoring in Louisiana, as large fines can be levied against community groups that publicly share data they have collected to advocate for public health and environmental justice.
With an amicus brief, AAPS’ goal is to educate the court about the growing field of participatory science and explain what participatory science is, how it works and why it is valuable.
Can states ban use of community monitoring data?
| On September 30th, amicus brief authors Jay Benforado and George Wyeth, as well as CEO of Purple Air, Adrian Dybwad, held an informal AAPS Lunch and Learn conversation. |
| Missed the event? Watch the overview, or download the slides. |
We are grateful to well respected partners who helped prepare the brief, including the American Thoracic Society (contributed medical expertise), Case Western Reserve University’s Environmental Law Clinic (helped write the brief and frame the legal issues) and the Earthjustice Gulf Regional Office (filed the brief in Louisiana). Note that while the brief has been submitted, the judge has discretion as to whether the brief is accepted (updates will be posted as available).
What is an amicus brief? An amicus brief is a legal document submitted to a court by an organization not involved in a lawsuit but which has a strong interest in the outcome. Also called “friend of the court” briefs, these documents provide the court with relevant information, expertise or legal arguments to help guide the judge’s decision, often focusing on broader policy implications of a court’s decision.
What is the Louisiana Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act (CAMRA)? This state law enacted in May 2024, restricts community air monitoring data by requiring groups to use expensive, EPA-approved equipment and making it illegal to use data from cheaper monitors to allege violations of environmental law. While proponents assert that it ensures citizen science data accuracy and integrity, the law essentially bans community air monitoring, limits free speech and has significant implications for the participatory sciences.
What are the legal concerns with the law? The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) submitted a complementary amicus brief that addresses legal issues, arguing that restrictions on public access to monitoring data infringes upon free speech rights and conflicts with provisions of the federal Clean Air Act.
What issues did AAPS raise? Our brief begins with an introduction on how community air monitoring combines the strengths of scientists and community members to understand and address risks from air pollution. Then, after noting some of the strengths and limitations in the U.S. air pollution monitoring system, we explain how community air monitoring fills data gaps in the system. Next there is a section on how the law incorrectly assumes that community air monitoring lacks data integrity and is of low quality, followed by information on the crucial role community air monitoring data plays in enforcement of environmental regulations. The brief ends with a discussion of how the law adversely impacts public health in disadvantaged communities and negatively impacts future research on air pollution and health.
In brief: Community air monitoring is part of a dynamic and collaborative approach to science that brings together scientists, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community groups. These approaches have come of age over the past 10-20 years through dedicated work of community organizations, the emergence of new technologies and sensors, and the scientific community’s increased engagement with and assistance to monitoring efforts. Community monitoring can contribute valuable data to help document, understand and solve air pollution problems. There is clear evidence that community-scale air monitoring can supplement existing regulatory monitoring networks and improve understanding of local-level air pollution. Insights gained from community monitoring of local air pollution can help inform local action to reduce pollution emissions and protect public health and the environment.
