Washington, D.C. ? Health and environmental organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that the Bush administration failed to protect public health and the environment when it issued new smog requirements.

The lawsuit maintains that the Environmental Protection Agency ignored the recommendation of a key advisory panel of scientists who had recommended more stringent smog standards.

The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by Earthjustice on behalf of a number of environmental and conservation groups and the American Lung Association.

Eleven states filed a parallel suit against the EPA in an effort to overturn what Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called weak ozone standards. The states were Connecticut, California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Other plaintiffs were the District of Columbia, the city of New York and Pennsylvania’s department of environmental protection.

The EPA in March issued tougher health standards for ozone, commonly known as smog, requiring that airborne concentrations be lowered from a maximum 84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion.

But an EPA science advisory board – and most health experts – had recommended a limit of 60 to 70 parts per billion to adequately protect the elderly, people with respiratory problems and children.