EPA sued for failure to protect NC air

Raleigh, NC - The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Environmental Defense, will file suit in U.S. District Court tomorrow over the failure of the Environmental Protection Agency to act on a petition from North Carolina that the agency enforce the Clean Air Act and force 13 other states to clean up dirty power plants that are polluting North Carolina's air.

"EPA's delay tactics have done nothing to protect North Carolinians from the damaging effects of other states' dirty air. In the meantime, the air in nearly one-third of North Carolina's counties fails to meet the basic standards for human health," said Marily Nixon, SELC Air Quality attorney. "We can't afford to delay any longer. Cleaning up power plants in neighboring states will help all of North Carolina's 8 million citizens breathe clean air."

The suit stems from the petition filed by North Carolina in March that asked EPA to force 13 upwind states to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions from power plants, the single largest source of air pollution in the region. Under the law, the EPA was required to act on North Carolina's petition by November 18 and has yet to act. In November, SELC filed notice giving the agency 60 days to respond to the petition or face legal action.

"EPA's legal responsibility to protect North Carolina citizens from air pollution blown in from other states is clear and unambiguous," said Nixon. "Unfortunately, it will now take a lawsuit to force EPA to comply with its legal duties." The suit is expected to result in an order requiring EPA to act on North Carolina's petition as mandated by the Clean Air Act.

EPA has already concluded that air pollution from power plants in the states targeted by North Carolina's petition contribute to poor air quality in North Carolina, and that 75 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions and nearly 70 percent of the nitrogen oxides emissions from these coal-burning power plants should be reduced to address this problem.

All or part of 32 counties in North Carolina do not meet federal clean air standards due in part to pollution crossing its borders from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.

Over 1,000 people in North Carolina die each year due to exposure to power plant pollution alone, the ninth highest rate in the country. Hundreds of thousands more suffer asthma attacks and other respiratory problems from breathing air pollution, some severe enough to require trips to emergency rooms and hospitalizations. Over 170,000 children in North Carolina suffer from asthma, with an estimated $100 million spent annually to care for them.