Northeastern states call on Midwest to tighten air regs

The New York Times reports governors of eight Northeastern states plan to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday to implement more stringent air pollution regulations.

{mosads}The East Coast states want more stringent regulations for nine Rust Belt and Appalachian states including Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan on emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Only Democratic governors from the group of states, including Connecticut and New York, signed the petition. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) did not sign it.

The EPA will receive the petition a day before the Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments on the agency’s cross-state pollution rule — know as the “good neighbor” rule.

The regulation, which aims to cut soot-and-smog-forming power plant emissions that travel across state lines, was struck down last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The Supreme Court extended the arguments for Tuesday to 90 minutes instead of the traditional 60 minutes, signaling a particular interest by the justices in the case.