By Steve James NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) -
Four eastern states said on Thursday they will sue Allegheny Energy , alleging the company's five coal-fired power plants in West Virginia violate the federal Clean Air Act. "While the owner of these power plants has reaped profits, New Jersey residents have reaped a bitter harvest of smog, acid rain and respiratory ailments," New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey said in a statement. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said his state had joined with New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to send Allegheny Energy a letter saying they intend to sue. The letter identifies Clean Air Act violations at five power plants in West Virginia owned by the company. Allegheny Energy, which is based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said it was reviewing the letter, but had no immediate comment. According to Spitzer, the suit comes after the federal government dropped its investigation of the power plants last year and he accused the Bush Administration of not enforcing clean air regulations.
He said the dropped investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had revealed that coal plants owned and operated by Allegheny made major improvements without installing legally required air pollution controls. "As a result, they have continued to emit hundreds of thousands of tons more pollution each year," Spitzer said. In addition, his letter identifies unpermitted modifications at three power plants in Pennsylvania, but the states have deferred joint action on those power plants since Pennsylvania has initiated its own investigation and is in discussions with Allegheny regarding those violations.
"Faced with federal regulators at the EPA who have abdicated their responsibility to enforce the Clean Air Act, we will join with three other states to ensure that corporate polluters are not permitted to defy the law at the expense of our environment and the health of our citizens," said New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey. New York's Spitzer, who has earned a reputation for pursuing corporate malfeasance, said sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the coal-fired plants cause smog, acid rain, respiratory disease and other harm. After the federal government announced that EPA was dropping some 50 air pollution enforcement investigations, Spitzer obtained comprehensive files on these power plants.
"Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is a serious threat to New York's environment and public health," he said. "It is disturbing that the federal government is no longer enforcing the Clean Air Act, and is in fact taking steps to sharply weaken it. New York and its partners will act if the federal government is unwilling to do so."
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