The dirty man gets dirtier

Twelve U.S. states sued the Bush administration on Monday in an attempt to prevent changes to the Clean Air Act that would allow increased pollution from fossil-fired power plants and factories. The revisions will weaken air pollution standards and harm public health. The Environmental Protection Agency brought in new standards to coal-fired utilities and oil refiners to significantly expand aging facilities without installing pollution-reduction equipment. The lawsuit said that only Congress could make major changes in air pollution policy. EPA officials contend the new rules will not increase power plant emissions. Last week, a separate group of states sued the Bush government to force it to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. "We should not be relaxing emission control standards when air pollution continues to cause such devastating health and environmental problems," New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said. "Litigation can produce nothing but confusion," utility lobbying group Electric Reliability Coordinating Council said in a statement.