Press Releases
07/29/2020
Attorney General Tong Announces Court Victory for Connecticut Air Quality
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced the U.S. District Court in New York has granted the request of Connecticut and other nearby states in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to hold upwind states accountable for cross-state air pollution in compliance with the Clean Air Act.Connecticut joined New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Massachusetts and the City of New York in a lawsuit last February asking the court to enforce prior court orders and require EPA to fulfill its duties under the Clean Air Act.
“This is a major court victory for Connecticut public health. We are situated at the end of the nation’s tailpipe, subjected to unhealthy levels of air pollution that we do not create or control. We need the EPA to do its job and hold upwind states accountable for the smog sent our way,” said Attorney General Tong. “This is not the first time the court has ordered the EPA to act, and we will remain vigilant along with our partner states to ensure the EPA complies.”
The case addresses pollution migrating into Connecticut -- as well as similarly-situated states in the northeast – from seven upwind states that is preventing the downwind states from attaining and/or maintaining the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The upwind states named in the suit are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, more than 90 percent of ozone levels in southwest Connecticut and more than 80 percent of ozone levels in some remaining parts of the state result from pollution that originates in areas located out of Connecticut’s jurisdiction and control. Readings at Connecticut air monitoring stations consistently show that that air entering Connecticut already exceeds ozone standards on days when quality here fails to meet federal standards, subjecting several million Connecticut residents to unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Assistant Attorney General Jill Lacedonia and Assistant Attorney General Matt Levine, Head of the Environment Department, are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
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