Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he will not support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to choke off pollution produced by power plants in other states that fouls New Jersey’s air, but will instead go after the worst plants individually
Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he will not support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to choke off pollution produced by power plants in other states that fouls New Jersey’s air, but will instead go after the worst plants individually. TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he will not support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to choke off pollution produced by power plants in other states that fouls New Jersey’s air, but will instead go after the worst plants individually.
Christie said in a statement that he would not join with other northeastern states to defend the federal plan, which is being challenged in court, but that he will continue the state’s legal assault on a coal-fired facility in western Pennsylvania that belches toxic fumes.
"It is a priority of this administration to achieve improved air quality for all residents of New Jersey and we are taking decisive action to hold out-of-state polluters accountable when they violate the Clean Air Act," he said.
The Republican governor’s decision comes on the final day the state could join the suit, and four days after criticizing the federal agency for "over-reaching" and "stifling" economic growth.
He said he preferred not to further empower the federal government.
"Instead of participating in lawsuits just for the sake of appearances and giving the illusion of action, we are making a real difference in the fight against the most polluting power plants in the nation," he said.
But environmentalists, the EPA and other experts on the Clean Air Act rejected Christie’s approach, saying that piecemeal lawsuits against individual plants have not alleviated the pollution that contributes to asthma and other respiratory problems.
"It’s much less effective and much more costly to go after these guys through the courts one at a time instead of using the law to go after all of them at the same time," said David Pringle, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Some critics also said Christie’s decision was a political calculation — echoed by other Republicans — to avoid standing by an environmental agency that has been criticized as being too aggressive under the current Democratic administration.
"This is an attempt by Christie to make it seem like he supports clean air when he is doing the opposite," said Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club, who complained that the governor’s announcement was buried in a press release touting his efforts to improve the state’s air.
Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for the EPA in Washington, said the agency was disappointed by the governor’s decision.
Craig Oren, a law professor at Rutgers University in Camden and an expert on the Clean Air Act, said there is "absolutely no way" that Christie’s approach to the problem would clean New Jersey’s air.
"It’s just not going to work," Oren said.
For decades, Republicans and Democrats alike in New Jersey have battled out-of-state plants whose pollution drifts eastward and causes New Jersey to fail federal standards for healthy air.
Last week, the EPA granted the state’s request to force a Pennsylvania coal-fired plant across the Delaware River from Warren County to cut emissions of sulfur dioxide by 81 percent within three years.
Christie said Monday that the state would appeal a judge’s decision issued last month to dismiss a suit against a power plant in Homer City, Pa., a small town east of Pittsburgh.
The lawsuit — brought by the EPA and joined by New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — sought to force the plant to reduce its emissions.
But the EPA says it can better address pollution with its national policy, which would force power plants in 27 states, including New Jersey, to install new equipment to reduce emissions.
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