Northeast states sue EPA over air pollution from Midwest

Source: Reuters

#ENVIRONMENT DECEMBER 26, 2017 / 2:59 PM / UPDATED 17 MINUTES AGO

Northeast states sue EPA over air pollution from Midwest

Peter Szekely
3 MIN READ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eight northeastern states on Tuesday said they sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to impose more stringent controls on a group of mostly Midwestern states whose air pollution they claim is being blown in their direction.

In the latest development of a legal saga that began during Barack Obama’s presidency, the suit by New York and seven other states challenges a Trump administration decision to allow nine upwind states to escape tighter smog pollution controls.

“Millions of New Yorkers are breathing unhealthy air as smog pollution continues to pour in from other states,” said New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, who led the coalition of states that filed the suit.

The suit, dated Friday, asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn the EPA’s decision not to add the nine upwind states to the congressionally created “Ozone Transport Region,” which requires stricter pollution controls.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-new-york/northeast-states-sue-epa-over-air-pollution-from-midwest-idUSKBN1EK1BK