Two separate coalitions of states, environmental groups, and state and local pollution regulators announced Thursday their respective intents to sue the U.S. EPA over its failure to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from ships and planes; the group of states and pollution regulators is also suing over emissions from agricultural and construction equipment. The states, agencies, and green groups have each tried to spur the EPA to determine whether emissions from marine vessels, planes, and other equipment endanger public health and welfare, but so far the agency has dodged the question (much as it has in the case of passenger vehicles). The two coalitions’ cases hinge on the Supreme Court ruling last year that ordered the EPA to decide whether greenhouse-gas emissions endangered public health or welfare. “More than 15 months after the Supreme Court’s order, EPA, once again, has ignored its legal and moral obligation to act quickly to protect the health and welfare of Americans,” said Martin Wagner of Earthjustice. If no action is taken by the agency in 180 days, the groups will launch formal lawsuits, but with a new, possibly more climate-friendly administration as the defendant.
