New York sues U.S. agency (EPA), seeks air quality files

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-15T173108Z_01_N15222849_RTRIDST_0_ENVIRONMENT-EPA.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - New York state has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to divulge information about the levels of toxins that paint manufacturers are allowed to release into the air.

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called the information critical to the state's ability to enforce environmental laws and announced on Wednesday he was suing Washington under the federal Freedom of Information Act and the Clean Air Act.

"After being denied access to records about volatile compounds for nearly two years, the state was left with no option but to sue the federal government for improperly withholding documents in violation of both laws," Spitzer's office said in a statement.

<snip>

The dispute stems from an EPA law regulating the amount of volatile organic compounds that can be used in certain paints, stains and varnishes that contribute to smog, which in turn may harm human and plant life, the statement said.

The law allows paint manufacturers to exceed limits if they pay a fee to the EPA. The "pay to spray" fees range from hundreds of dollars a year to more than $5 million paid by Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the statement said.

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[Kagemusha]

1. Well I must say, this is interesting.

What are they gonna do, cite national security/ executive privilege?

[JudyM]

2. Spitzer at it again. You gotta love that.

[fearnobush]

3. Fuck the federal Govt, You know what I'm saying, dam them to hell

and when at all possible spread the word to all that the Feds are out to get you. They want you as slaves to pay for there corrupt no bid Katrina and Iraq contracts, they want to poison you with pollutants and fill your son's and daughter's bodies full of lead holes in distant wars for prophet. They want to wire tap your ass, bar code your flesh and treat you as a disposable consumer, a gross domestic product to be sold and thrown in the trash when your usefulness is no longer profitable. FED GOVT - Fuck You!