The attorneys general in eight Eastern seaboard states are suing the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency over air pollution that blows in from upwind states.
“We can't control what’s happening outside our borders,” said Amy Spitalnick, a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who’s leading the lawsuit. “We need the federal government to step in and ensure that there are common sense enforcement actions taken to control the levels of smog following into New York and other Northeastern states from these upwind states.”
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont are also part of the suit.
In 2013 some of those states petitioned the EPA to add nine upwind states to a group that must work together to reduce smog pollution. Those states are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Tuesday’s lawsuit stems from the EPA’s denial of that petition.
An EPA spokesperson says the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation.