Current:Home > ContactStates Begged EPA to Stop Cross-State Coal Plant Pollution. Wheeler Just Refused. -WealthPro Academy
States Begged EPA to Stop Cross-State Coal Plant Pollution. Wheeler Just Refused.
TradeEdge Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 14:06:13
Delaware and Maryland have been pleading for years with the Environmental Protection Agency to help address the smog pollution they say is blowing across their borders from coal-fired power plants in other states and making their residents sick.
The Trump EPA just said no.
The 111-page notice of denial from the agency shows that Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, is following in the fossil fuel-friendly policy direction set by his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, while being more cautious to spell out the agency’s legal reasoning.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the EPA has made a long list of moves to delay, weaken or repeal environmental protections that target pollution. It includes proposals to loosen coal ash disposal rules and to weaken the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s signature initiative to address climate change, which also would dramatically reduce smog, particulate matter, mercury and other dangerous air pollutants by slashing the amount of coal the country burns.
Maryland and Delaware had asked EPA to require upwind coal plants to reduce their emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution under a provision of the Clean Air Act. Maryland’s petition, for example, asked that the EPA to require about three dozen plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to run their already-installed pollution control equipment during the summer months.
EPA: There Isn’t Sufficient Evidence
Pruitt had sat on the petitions, along with a similar request from the state of Connecticut, for months without acting. Federal courts ruled four times this year that such delays were illegal—most recently on June 13, when a federal judge in Maryland ordered the EPA to act on that state’s petition.
In the notice signed by Wheeler on Friday, the EPA said that it does not have sufficient evidence that upwind states and sources are significantly contributing to the downwind states’ problems with ground-level ozone, or smog.
The agency also said any cross-border pollution problems should be dealt with under another section of the law. And it said there was no evidence that there were further cost-effective steps the coal plants could take to make pollution reductions beyond the requirements of that law.
States Worry About Residents’ Health
Delaware had filed four separate petitions asking EPA to address the pollution from separate coal plants in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
It wrote that one of the plants, Brunner Island in Pennsylvania, has no post-combustion controls installed to limit NOx pollution. The EPA said it expected Brunner Island would operate on natural gas in the future, stating in a footnote that the power plant’s operator, Talen Energy, had agreed to phase out use of coal at the plant in a proposed consent decree with Sierra Club. That agreement, however, would still allow coal-burning through 2028.
“EPA’s irresponsible decision to deny these petitions will cause unnecessary risk to the health of millions of Americans,” said Graham McCahan, a senior attorney for Environmental Defense Fund, which had joined in Maryland’s case.
Smog, which is formed when two fossil fuel combustion pollutants—NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—mix in the presence of sunlight, is linked to premature deaths, hospitalizations, asthma attacks and long-term lung damage. Although smog has been greatly reduced in the United States, more recent science shows that even low levels of smog can be hazardous to health.
“Maryland and Delaware have offered proven and affordable solutions to the problem of dangerous air pollution that is encroaching on them from neighboring states,” McCahan said. “We’ll keep working to help them—and other downwind states—provide cleaner, safer air for their people.”
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- What will AI mean for the popular app Be My Eyes?
- Flash Deal: Save 69% On the Total Gym All-in-One Fitness System
- Aerie's Clearance Section Has 76% Off Deals on Swimwear, Leggings, Tops & More
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Aging Oil Pipeline Under the Great Lakes Should Be Closed, Michigan AG Says
- From Antarctica to the Oceans, Climate Change Damage Is About to Get a Lot Worse, IPCC Warns
- New Trump Nuclear Plan Favors Uranium Mining Bordering the Grand Canyon
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Transcript: Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Face the Nation, June 18, 2023
Ranking
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Can Planting a Trillion Trees Stop Climate Change? Scientists Say it’s a Lot More Complicated
- Deforestation Is Getting Worse, 5 Years After Countries and Companies Vowed to Stop It
- Anne Hathaway's Stylist Erin Walsh Explains the Star's Groundbreaking Fashion Era
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Can Planting a Trillion Trees Stop Climate Change? Scientists Say it’s a Lot More Complicated
- Review: 'Yellowstone' creator's 'Lioness' misses the point of a good spy thriller
- Jamil was struggling after his daughter had a stroke. Then a doctor pulled up a chair
Recommendation
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Pope Francis will be discharged from the hospital on Saturday
Kim Kardashian Admits She Cries Herself to Sleep Amid Challenging Parenting Journey
'Cancel culture is a thing.' Jason Aldean addresses 'Small Town' backlash at Friday night show
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
This Week in Clean Economy: NYC Takes the Red Tape Out of Building Green
Video: Covid-19 Drives Earth Day Anniversary Online, Inspiring Creative New Tactics For Climate Activists
Gerard Piqué Gets Cozy With Girlfriend Clara Chia Marti After Shakira Breakup