States sue U.S. over smog rules

SACRAMENTO — Fourteen states and the District of Columbia announced Thursday that they are suing the Trump administration over what they say is a failure to enforce smog standards.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not designated any areas of the country as having unhealthy air, missing an Oct. 1 deadline, according to the lawsuit. Such areas must take steps to improve their air quality.

Poor air quality particularly affects the health of children, people with asthma and those who work outside, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led and announced the filing. The lawsuit says smog can cause or aggravate diseases including heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema.

“Lives can be saved if the EPA implements these standards,” he said in a statement.

Becerra was joined by the attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state. Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency also joined the suit.

The EPA said the agency’s policy is not to comment on litigation.

The suit is the latest allegation by Democratic officials in California and other states that the Trump administration is illegally delaying environmental actions as it attempts to unwind rules set under former President Barack Obama.

Becerra, for instance, noted that he previously sued Trump officials for what he calls an illegal delay of a rule encouraging automakers to create vehicle fleets that meet or exceed federal fuel efficiency standards.