The attorneys general of 11 states have sued the EPA for delaying implementation of a chemical-spill rule at industrial sites, including fertilizer plants, by two years.
“The set of regulations, called the Chemical Accident Safety Rule, would require industrial facilities to take new steps to prevent accidents and also to conduct more robust examinations of the causes of accidents that do occur,” says Reuters. “The rules call for more coordination with local authorities and first responders, as well as more public outreach following an accident and more drills to prepare for one.”
Even though the EPA has stalled on imposing the rule, it released a factsheet in June explaining the importance of better clean-up measures and detailing the dangers of chemical spills. “According to the fact sheet, 58 people have died in the last 10 years as a result of 1,517 industrial accidents that caused $2 billion worth of property damage,” says Reuters.
Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington State joined in the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. Appeals Court, District of Columbia.