BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced July 25 that she has joined a coalition of 11 attorneys general in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to challenge the agency’s allegedly unlawful delay of a rule providing vital protections to communities living near facilities housing dangerous chemicals.
“This is yet another outrageous decision by Administrator Scott Pruitt that puts industry interests ahead of the health and safety of our residents, workers, and first responders,” Healey said. “We will continue to take actions to hold the EPA accountable and ensure that we are protecting the public from chemical accidents.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It challenges the EPA’s decision to delay the date when facilities must comply with a January 2017 regulation strengthening risk management practices by at least 20 months. The regulation was set to implement the federal Risk Management Program under the federal Clean Air Act, which mandates that owners and operators of facilities with dangerous chemicals must develop risk management plans.
Joining Massachusetts in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.