15 States Appeal EPA Delay Of Stricter Air-Quality Standards

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - In this June 2, 2017, file photo, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Newly obtained emails underscor... FILE - In this June 2, 2017, file photo, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Newly obtained emails underscore just how closely Pruitt coordinated with fossil fuel companies while serving as Oklahoma’s state attorney general, a position in which he frequently sued to block federal efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) MORE LESS
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia are suing over the Trump administration’s delay of Obama-era rules reducing emissions of smog-causing air pollutants.

The states filed Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced in June he was extending deadlines by at least a year for compliance with the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is among those filing suit. He says Pruitt’s delay puts the profits of polluters before public health.

Fossil-fuel industry groups have urged the agency to roll back the requirements. Ground-level ozone can trigger life-threatening breathing problems, causing thousands of premature deaths each year.

An EPA spokeswoman says the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

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  1. Are any of the states run by Republicans?

  2. Avatar for mymy mymy says:

    Good for them!

  3. New York was joined in the case by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and the District of Columbia.

    Clearly left leaning states for the most part…which is why Pruitt probably doesn’t give a shit. He’s been abusing his role at EPA since he got there and his conflicts of interest still haven’t been resolved.

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