8 states sue environmental agency over upwind air pollution

ALBANY, N.Y. – The attorneys general in eight Eastern Seaboard states are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over air pollution that blows in from upwind states.

New York Democrat Eric Schneiderman (SHNEYE’-dur-muhn) is the leading attorney general in the lawsuit. He says it was filed Tuesday in a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia to force President Donald Trump’s administration to take action to ensure upwind states control pollution.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont also are part of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stems from the EPA’s denial of a petition some of those states filed in 2013 under the Clean Air Act to get the agency to add nine upwind states to a group that must work together to reduce smog pollution.

An EPA spokeswoman says the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.