NYT: States Planning Their Own Suits On Power Plants

[CShine]

The attorneys general of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut say they are ready to open a new round of litigation to force power plants to make billions of dollars of pollution-control improvements after a decision by the Bush administration to abandon more than 50 investigations into violations of the Clean Air Act.

The state officials said they would move quickly to fill some of the void left by the Environmental Protection Agency, which decided this week to drop the investigations at the old coal-fired plants, a major source of the air pollution that drifts over the Northeast.

But they said that the states have far fewer resources than the federal government does to battle one of the nation's most powerful industries and that they would have to focus their actions against fewer utilities.

Still, the states, working with national environmental organizations, will have leverage in whatever suits they do bring. Under provisions of the Clean Air Act, any individual can sue over pollution violations and seek huge fines that could force some of the utilities back to the bargaining table and reduce pollutants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/national/09POLL.html?ex=1069563600&en=bbf9cfc13e01ebdd&ei=5004&partner=UNTD

[dkf]

1. States are taking charge because the Feds aren't doing their jobs

Witness AG Spitzer in NY, states making arragements to buy drugs from Canada, etc.

[Don_G]

2. Those States Call Call The Shots

And tie up every energy company in the courts if they choose to do so outside of what Asskrap thinks. I believe it will come to that too.