Air quality has improved across the Northeast according to the American Lung Association’s 2017 State of the Air Report. But, plans to turn environmental regulation back to the states could endanger progress in New York and Connecticut.
According to the report, Fairfield County, Connecticut, has the worst smog levels in the region. And for the second year in a row, Suffolk was the county with the worst air quality in New York State.
It might not be all New York and Connecticut’s fault though. Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of Policy for the American Lung Association, called the Northeast the tailpipe of the nation.
The pollution that’s generated throughout the middle part of the country blow, as the wind patterns do, into the Northeast.
The American Lung Association called on President Trump, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and members of Congress to fully fund and enforce the Clean Air Act. Trump has promised to repeal Obama-era regulations on air pollutants and turn regulatory decision-making over to individual states.
