TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
announced today that a federal court has
granted New Jersey’s request for
a stay in the implementation of new Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that
would significantly weaken the pollution
control requirements of the federal New
Source Review (NSR) program.
Governor James E. McGreevey called the
decision, issued by the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
a significant and encouraging development
in the effort by New Jersey, 13 other
states and the District of Columbia to
stop implementation by EPA of regulations
that weaken the intent of the federal
Clean Air Act.
“The
implementation of these regulations would
be disastrous for our environment, and
the court’s granting of a stay is
important not just for all New Jerseyans,
but for our nation,” Governor McGreevey
said. “We remain committed to stopping
the Bush Administration from putting the
profit-making goals of polluters ahead
of the health and safety of our citizens.
We will not rest until we have exhausted
every legal remedy available to stop these
new rules, which are completely at odds
with the plain language and clear intent
of the Clean Air Act.”
Attorney General Harvey noted that the
new regulations, which were published
in October by EPA in the Federal Register,
would create a significant loophole in
the law for industry. As a result, companies
would be able to rebuild old, dirty power
plants -- and increase potentially harmful
emissions -- without installing modern
pollution controls as intended under New
Source Review.
“We
are delighted that the Court of Appeals
has afforded New Jersey a chance to explain
why the new EPA regulations will cause
significantly more air pollution in our
state, contrary to Congressional intent,”
Harvey said.
According to Harvey, the regulations at
issue would effectively nullify New Source
Review by allowing most major sources
of pollution – including power plants,
utilities and refineries – to avoid
long-standing NSR requirements to install
new pollution controls when making any
physical or operational changes that result
in a significant increase in emissions.
“This ruling justifies what we in
New Jersey have been saying all along
– that gutting the New Source Review
provisions of the Clean Air Act undermines
the law by threatening public health and
the environment,” said DEP Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell. “We will continue
to fight the irresponsible environmental
policies of the Bush administration which
threaten our people and put our businesses
at a competitive disadvantage.”
New Jersey is also part of a coalition
suing the EPA to overturn final regulations,
published a year ago, that severely weakened
NSR by, among other things, changing how
power plants and other major source of
pollution calculate emissions.
Joining New Jersey in its lawsuit to stop
the EPA regulations are California, Connecticut,
the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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