Georgia has joined 16 other states in a legal challenge claiming the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency illegally invalidated air quality protection plans.
The filing by Attorney General Sam Olens claims an EPA rule issued in June requiring 35 states to revise their "State Implementation Plans" will increase costs for industrial plants while offering only a "negligible" environmental impact. It claims that the new orders, a result of a settlement with the Sierra Club, would require Georgia to change an already-approved plan to comply with air pollution standards.
"Everyone who has seen a truck move after a red light understands this issue," said Olens. "It is important for Georgia power plants and industries to keep living up to their responsibilities on overall emissions, but this new mandate is simply the result of EPA working with the Sierra Club in yet another example of 'sue and settle' decision-making."
This is not to be confused with the Obama administration's recent Clean Power Plan restrictions on existing power plants. Georgia has yet to challenge that one, after getting a break on the final rule.
The Sierra Club said the loophole that Georgia is challenging has long been an "irresponsible and dangerous giveaway to polluters" that threatens residents who live near coal-fired power plants. Said Sierra Club director Colleen Kiernan:
"Unfortunately, it's no surprise that big polluters and their supporters like Sam Olens are challenging this rule so that they can keep violating their permit limits and the law. Georgia's Attorney General has developed a bad habit of putting polluters over people, challenging mercury and other clean air programs at the request of utilities and over the objection of state agencies. However, EPA is required to close these loopholes because they are inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. The loopholes also have the real-world consequences of compromising air quality and public health."
The challenge to the rewrite of the "State Implementation Plans" have been brewing for a while. An Open Records Act request revealed that Gov. Nathan Deal had penned a draft letter raising objections to the changes months ago. The final letter was sent on July 28, and it said the rule change "could create a serious threat to electricity generation reliability, especially during extreme weather seasons."
"Of even greater concern to us are cost increases on the public," Deal wrote in the letter to EPA administrator Gina McCarthy. "The increase in energy costs for job creators and employers is concerning enough, but we believe endorsing cost increases on low-income families and senior citizens, those who can least afford it, is irresponsible and careless."
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