A drilling rig is seen Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 in Springville, Pa. State regulators blame faulty gas wells drilled for leaking methane into the groundwater in nearby Dimock, Pa. It was the first serious case of methane migration related to the Pennsylvania 3-year-old drilling boom, raising fears of potential environmental harm throughout the giant Marcellus Shale gas field. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
ALBANY – New York and six other Northeastern states are threatening to sue the Obama administration for allegedly violating its own air pollution rules. A report in today’s Albany Times-Union says the allegations are based on updated rules recently approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that cover the fossil fuel industry under the Clean Air Act. Critics contend that the rules ignore methane emissions from oil and gas production, including the hydrofracking drilling method being reviewed in this state.
New York was joined by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island and Delaware. The coalition jointly filed a notice that it will sue the EPA in federal court within 60 days unless the federal government moves to include methane rules.
In a statement on Tuesday, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the country can not simply continue to ignore evidence of climate change or the catastrophic threat that unabated greenhouse gas pollution poses to our families, our communities and our economy.
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