Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined seven other regional governors in petitioning states to the south and west of Connecticut to cut back on their pollution, as the greenhouse gases impact the breathable air in the Northeast.
Malloy and Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, , New Hampshire, and Vermont told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to add nine South and Midwest states to the Ozone Transport Region.
Under the Clean Air Act, these OTR states would have to take actions on air pollution similar to those of downwind states. Those actions include using control technologies, generating more power from renewable energy, and becoming less reliant on coal.
The nine upwind states named in the petition are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Some 80-90 percent of the air pollution in Connecticut, particularly in the southwest portion of the state, comes from areas outside of Connecticut’s jurisdictional control.
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