Maryland will sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if 36 power plants in surrounding states are not forced to use pollution controls, the Associated Press reports.
Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles notified the agency in a letter Thursday after the offending plants missed a July 15 deadline to institute the controls required under the “good neighbor provision.”
“We need the EPA to step in to ensure that these power plants run their pollution controls on a daily basis,” Grumbles said according to the Associated Press. “We’re in discussions with the states. We need EPA to step in and help. We have the data, and it’s clear, and the pollution is coming from these power plants.”
Maryland petitioned the EPA in November to investigate power plants in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania for violating federal pollution limit laws, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Grumbles’ letter said the EPA has failed to hold the plants accountable by allowing them to violate the good neighbor provision without any repercussions. The EPA already gave itself a six month extension to act on the allegation, but missed the new deadline.
The EPA has another 60 days to respond to Grumbles’ letter or take action against the power plants before Maryland is able to sue, according to the Baltimore Sun.
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