Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday said his state will sue the Environmental Protection Agency over a failure to regulate power-plant pollution that Mr. Hogan says directly impacts the people in his state.
Mr. Hogan, a Republican, said the EPA has failed to respond to a November petition that asked the EPA to require power plants in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to institute stricter pollution controls. Maryland officials cited health studies showing that the lack of such controls directly impacts air quality in Maryland, thereby affecting residents’ health.
“Maryland has made significant progress in improving our air quality in recent years, and that progress is in jeopardy due to a lack of action by the EPA that dates back to the previous administration,” the governor said in a statement. “We strongly urge the EPA to approve the petition and enforce the air pollution controls, already in place in Maryland, at upwind out-of-state facilities that threaten the health of Maryland citizens and our economy.”
The EPA in January put off a decision until July 15, but that deadline, too, came and went with no apparent action by the Trump administration.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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