W.Va. officials challenging EPA clean-air rules
W.Va. DEP challenges EPA over plan to revisit longstanding clean-air rules on industrial sites
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Two West Virginia officials are blasting the Environmental Protection Agency over new air pollution rules.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement Tuesday saying the rules should be withdrawn.
In February, the EPA directed 36 states, including West Virginia, to review their plans for ensuring that industrial facilities meet clean-air standards when they're starting up, shutting down or experiencing a malfunction.
Morrisey and Huffman say it's wrong for the EPA to force states to change rules that were approved by a federal agency and have been on the books for years.
Their objection is part of a continuing pattern of state officials accusing the EPA of overstepping its authority.
