BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) – The state of Maryland alleges that the U.S. EPA failed to act on a petition it sent regarding electric generating units in neighboring states.
The state of Maryland filed a complaint on Sept. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Scott Pruitt and United States Environmental Protection Agency citing the Clean Air Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff submitted a petition to the EPA in November 2016 asking it to issue "a finding that 36 electric generating units located in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are in violation of the prohibition of 42 U.S.C. § 7410(a)(2)(D)(i), commonly referred to as the 'good neighbor provision,'" the complaint states. The plaintiff alleges these units emit nitrogen oxides that infer with the state's National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
The plaintiff holds Pruitt and United States Environmental Protection Agency responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to either make the requested finding or deny plaintiff's petition within 60 days of receipt, and failed to hold a public hearing on the petition in a timely manner.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks an order for the defendants to hold a public hearing on the matter within 30 days, costs of litigation, attorneys’ fees and other relief as the court deems just. They are represented by Michael F. Strande of Maryland Department of the Environment in Baltimore.
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland case number 17-C-02873