HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) — Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced May 17 that his office has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging it is failing to take timely action on a petition from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“We are entering the season of hot summer days when ozone pollution is at its worst and Connecticut was counting on upwind emissions reductions from this coal plant to reduce nitrogen oxide, a main precursor to ozone formation,” said DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee. “EPA’s lack of action continues the exposure of our citizens to unhealthy air when it is clear that this plant significantly contributes to our pollution and needs to be controlled.”
The petition urges the EPA to take action against a coal-fired plant in Pennsylvania that is allegedly polluting the air. This air blows up into Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection filed the original petition June 1, 2016.
“The EPA’s failure to act on the petition has harmed and continues to harm our state and its citizens and residents, by delaying action to address the interstate transport of air pollution from Brunner Island,” Jepsen said. “This pollution significantly contributes to non-attainment of the 2008 ozone NAAQS in Connecticut, to the detriment of the health and welfare of everyone in our state.”