Mississippi weighs possible suit against EPA, Georgia stays put
April 3, 2008 at 5:25 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsAs if we didn’t have our hands full already — you know, there’s that whole water-sharing dilemma, as well as the potential for a border dispute with Tennessee — it’d make for great theater if Georgia decided to take a stab at the water, land and air trifecta and sue the Environmental Protection Agency for its recent tightening of the air quality standard.
This morning I received an e-mail that included a message purportedly from the National Association of Attorneys General and addressed to members of the organization. It stated that Mississippi’s attorney general was eying a possible law suit against the EPA for its recent tightening of air quality standards. The message from NAAG asked its members if any other states — including Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina and Indiana — were considering similar action. A spokesperson for NAAG said the association often communicates internally with its members and could not comment on the authenticity of the e-mail.
Earlier this year, Gov. Sonny Perdue was one of 12 governors who urged the EPA to not enact a stricter air quality standard prior to the agency’s ruling last month. State Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, pushed a resolution earlier this legislative session that would have urged the EPA not to tighten that standard.
As of right now, however, there are no plans for Georgia to take such litigious action. Russ Willard of state Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s office said in a phone interview their office was contacted by Mississippi this morning, but that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, which has authority over such actions, has not expressed a desire to pursue a lawsuit against the federal agency.
“Neither the Governor or EPD have expressed the desire to [join or file a lawsuit],” Willard says.
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