LANSING, Mich. (WLNS):
Attorney General Dana Nessel and 15 other attorneys general and the city of Philadelphia are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for getting rid of safeguards to prevent and limit injuries and deaths from chemical accidents.
The coalition is challenging the EPA’s changes to the Obama administration’s amendments to its risk management program regulations, fires, poisonous gases and other accidents at facilities that store and use the toxic chemicals.
“As public officials working in government, a top priority should always be the safety of our residents,” Nessel said. “The Environmental Protection Agency’s actions, in this case, unfortunately put our residents in harm’s way. Accidents can happen and they’re not always avoidable, but removing these safeguards provide even fewer assurances that people won’t be hurt or killed from unavoidable incidents.”
Under President Trump’s administration, the EPA passed a rule that took away some key safety measures in accident prevention programs.
Some of those changes included the elimination of third-party audits after accidents. It also included the removal of analyses of safer technology alternatives that could prevent future accidents or lessen harm.
The coalition’s petition was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The coalition includes Nessel and the attorneys general of New York, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the city of Philadelphia.