Attorneys general sue EPA over pollution requirements

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and more than a dozen other attorneys general are suing the Environmental Protection Agency and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, accusing them of ignoring the administration’s duty to control methane emissions. 

In the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the state attorneys general, city of Chicago and D.C. argue that the EPA and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt have failed to meet the Clean Air Act’s statutory deadline for declaring areas of the country impacted by smog. It’s not the first time Schneiderman and his ally attorneys general have sued Mr. Trump’s EPA. They also filed a suit against the EPA in December for allegedly failing to control methane emissions. 

The plaintiffs in the suit, are: New York, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and Chicago. All of them are Democrats.

“Over and over again, the Trump EPA puts polluters before its responsibility to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said in a statement released Thursday. “Over 115 million Americans – including at least one in three New Yorkers – are breathing dangerous levels of smog pollution. By continuing to ignore its legal obligations to cut this dangerous pollution, the Trump EPA is turning a blind eye to public health – and the law. Attorneys General will continue to fight back to protect our residents and our states.”

On Tuesday, Pruitt — who is under fire for renting a condo from the wife of a lobbyist, for hefty salary increases for two top aides, and for expensive travel — announced he would be easing some Obama-era emissions regulations. But he didn’t say exactly what those changes would be. Pruitt’s argument is that easing restrictive regulations boosts the economy, allowing businesses more freedom.