New York, groups to sue EPA over mobile pollution rule
Date: 24-May-01
Country: USA
The lawsuit will be announced formally on Thursday and charge the EPA fell short of its legal obligation to protect the public health from toxic substances like benzene from tailpipes when it issued a final mobile source toxics rule in March.
"The final rule came out in March, with a 60-day period to act on litigation, so that is why we are acting now," said Cindy Drucker, a spokeswoman for the Boston-based Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM).
The Sierra Club and Earthjustice environmental advocacy organizations are also party to the legal action. They claim EPA has previously estimated more than 200 million people across the country are subject to elevated risk due to exposure to toxics.
"The lawsuits reflect the fact that the agency's mobile source air toxics rule falls short of fulfilling the legal requirements of the Clean Air Act to reduce the threat of toxic air pollutants from mobile sources," the groups said.
The Bush Administration has been under fire from environmental groups for gutting policies implemented by the Clinton White House, notably drawing criticism for delaying new rules on arsenic in drinking water, refusing to participate in global warming negotiations and plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
