In Maryland, officials predicted the state would benefit from cuts in pollution from other states. Baltimore suffers from some of the worst air in the country, and the state has already adopted aggressive smog-control measures, set to take effect in May, although two major utility companies have filed a lawsuit seeking to block them. We encourage other states to do their fair share to make clean air an achievable goal for the entire country. EPA's action, first proposed last October, represents an unprecedented attempt to solve the problem of long-range transport of pollutants across state and regional borders. Many states, particularly in the Northeast, attribute their smog problems to airborne pollutants that drift eastward from industrial centers in the Midwest.
Midwestern states say the claims of wind-blown pollution are exaggerated.
Although each state must decide how the cuts would be made, the EPA plan is slanted toward achieving the bulk of the reductions from utilities and other large industrial sources. In some midwestern states, coal-burning power plants produce as much as half the NOx that travels downwind to neighboring states. Browner said yesterday that many states could achieve their targets simply by requiring utilities to upgrade pollution controls. Several utility companies were harshly critical of the EPA plan, though environmental groups praised it. EPA's final rule .