Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon and Washington have joined ten other states, the District of Columbia and New York City in suing the Environmental Protection Agency again. This newest lawsuit says the Bush Administration has failed to rein in emissions from oil refineries.    KLCC’s Rachael McDonald reports.

Jake Weigler is with Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers’ office. He says oil refineries are a major source of carbon dioxide and methane which contribute to global warming.

Jake Weigler: “Our suit essentially asks the courts to instruct the EPA that they do need to consider green house gases as a threat to our public welfare and what they can do to start controlling those emissions.”

Washington and California are among the states suing the EPA.

The suit is the latest by states critical of the federal government’s record on environmental regulation and global warming.

In a statement, EPA spokesman Tim Lyons says time and taxpayer dollars will be better spent encouraging Congress to take action on environmental legislation than by introducing new lawsuits.