States cite pandemic, sue EPA for 'assault' on toxics rule

摘要

Massachusetts and 19 other states have leapt into the legal battle over EPA's decision to scrap the basis for Obama-era regulations on power plant air toxics, with one elected leader citing the COVID-19 outbreak as an added reason for opposing the Trump administration's stance. "It's absurd that in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, President Trump is putting the interests of the coal lobby and polluters ahead of the health of the American public," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) said in a statement late yesterday announcing the lawsuit, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The administration's decision to revoke the determination that it is "appropriate and necessary" to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous pollutants "is an assault on critical regulations that protect our most vulnerable residents," Healey said. Other plaintiffs include California, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as the cities of New York, Chicago and Baltimore; the District of Columbia; and Erie County, N.Y. As of this morning, their suit had not shown up in the federal; court system's online database, but a Healey spokeswoman confirmed that it had been submitted.