States Sue E.P.A. Over Delayed Soot Rules – NYTimes.com

Eleven states, including New York and California, joined forces on Friday tosue the federal Environmental Protection Agency in federal district court in Manhattan over the agency’s delays in tightening air quality standards involving fine particulate matter, or soot, from diesel trucks, buses, power plants and other sources.

In New York City and other urban areas, health officials blame the pollution for increasing the risk of early death, heart attacks and emergency room visits from people with asthma and other illnesses.

Yet the Obama administration faces intense opposition to stricter air quality regulations from Republicans and industry critics who argue that they would drive up energy costs and hurt economic growth. When the E.P.A. postponed revising the soot standards last fall as part of a scheduled review under the federal Clean Air Act, the states decided to sue. (The E.P.A. last revised the standards in 2006.)

New rules are “vitally important to public health,.” the suit says.