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For Immediate Release
April, 22 2015, 10:30am EDT
Contact:
Adam Beitman | Sierra Club | adam.beitman@sierraclub.org | 202-670-5585
Tim Whitehouse | Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility | twhitehouse@psr.org | 240-246-4492
Phillip Ellis | Earthjustice | pellis@earthjustice.org | 202-745-5221
Public Health and Environmental Groups Announce Intent to Take Gov. Hogan to Court for Unlawfully Blocking Clean Air Protections
Unlawful actions on his first day in office put the five million Marylanders that live in areas designated as having unhealthy levels of smog at more risk
BALTIMORE, MD
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and Sierra Club represented by Earthjustice announced today that they will hold Governor Hogan, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Maryland Division of State Documents accountable for failing to implement new clean air protections to clean up coal-fired power plants that had been finalized and adopted prior to Gov. Hogan taking office. The public health and environmental groups submitted a 30-day notice of their intent to file a lawsuit today, as mandated under Maryland law, to require the publication and enforcement of the adopted clean air protections.
Currently, five million Marylanders live in areas that have been designated as having unhealthy levels of smog in the air. The clean air protections at issue would reduce smog in areas including Baltimore and surrounding counties which were assigned the worst smog designation east of the Mississippi River by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The safeguards would reduce pollution by requiring coal-fired power plants in Maryland to install and use the same types of modern pollution controls that are more prevalent on coal plants in states throughout the country, including traditional coal states such as West Virginia, Alabama and Kentucky. Less than half of the coal units in Maryland are equipped with such modern controls.
Doris Toles, who lives in Baltimore and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and asthma, said, "Smog pollution puts me at risk, and at a disadvantage. Whatever I do and wherever I go, I have to measure and calculate what kind of activities I can engage in due to Baltimore's poor air quality. Cleaning up pollution from coal plants will help people like me stay alive. I pray that Gov. Hogan will finally unblock these actions."
"This rule would have resulted in fewer new cases of asthma in children, fewer heart attacks in adults and fewer deaths from respiratory illness. It would have allowed those suffering from this pollution to breathe a little easier," said Gwen DuBois, an internist at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a member of the board of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, and a member of the public health committee of The Maryland State Medical Society.
After a lengthy stakeholder process that garnered the support of public health advocates, Maryland's independent air quality advisory council, The Maryland State Medical Society and the owner of three large coal plants in the state, the MDE finalized the standards known as the nitrogen oxide (NOx) Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) rule. That rule was adopted by the agency on January 16, 2015 and submitted that same day for publication in the Maryland Register.
On Gov. Hogan's first day in office, however, he issued a directive to the Division of State Documents blocking publication of the rule. In their 30-day notice of intent to sue letter, Sierra Club and PSR make clear that the Governor lacked the authority to block these safeguards, and that the Division of State Documents is legally required to publish the rule so that it can be enforced.
"By blocking these critical public health protections, Gov. Hogan has acted contrary to both public opinion and the law," said Shannon Fisk, Managing Attorney at Earthjustice. "We urge the Governor to allow these protections to be published and enforced, and stand ready to take appropriate legal action if he fails to do so."
On Friday, Gov. Hogan's MDE announced a plan to move forward with a dramatically weakened version of the regulations through a non-public "emergency" rulemaking process.
"Gov. Hogan's attempt to circumvent public opinion and a public process by ramming through weakened 'emergency' regulations while blocking lawfully enacted public health protections is unlawful and a disservice to Marylanders. These protections are critical for public health, and provide the time and flexibility for Maryland businesses to make the best decisions for the future of their operations," said Josh Tulkin, Executive Director of the Maryland Sierra Club. "The safeguards that Hogan are trying to gut say, simply, 'if you're going to burn coal in Maryland, you need to install and run modern pollution controls by the end of the decade for the sake of our health.' With today's suit we are acting in the interest of all Marylanders, to make sure they can breathe healthier air."
ONLINE VERSION OF STATEMENT: https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/public-health-and-environmental-groups-announce-intent-to-take-gov-hogan-to-court-for-unlawfully-blocking-clean
LINK TO 30-DAY NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE: https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/Maryland%20NOx%20Regulations%20--%20MESA%20Suit%2030-Day%20Notice.pdf
Physicians for Social Responsibility mobilizes physicians and health professionals to advocate for climate solutions and a nuclear weapons-free world. PSR's health advocates contribute a health voice to energy, environmental health and nuclear weapons policy at the local, federal and international level.
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As Israel continues its "silent genocide" in the Gaza Strip one month into a supposed ceasefire with Hamas and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank hit a record high, Amnesty International on Tuesday ripped the advancement of a death penalty bill championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Israel's 120-member Knesset "on Monday evening voted 39-16 in favor of the first reading of a controversial government-backed bill sponsored by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech," the Times of Israel reported. "Two other death penalty bills, sponsored by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, also passed their first readings 36-15 and 37-14."
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The UN has previously condemned Israel's military courts in the occupied West Bank, saying that "Palestinians' right to due process guarantees have been violated" for decades, and denounced "the lack of fair trial in the occupied West Bank."
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A Kansas county has agreed to pay $3 million over 2023 police raids of a local newspaper and multiple homes—one of which belonged to its elderly publisher, whose death shortly followed—sparking nationwide alarm over increasing attacks on the free press.
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The apology states that the Marion County Sheriff's Office "wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record. This likely would not have happened if established law had been reviewed and applied prior to the execution of the warrant."
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Rhodes was referring to the 98-year-old Record co-owner, who was reportedly in good health for her age, but collapsed and died at her home in the immediate aftermath of the raid by Marion police and country sheriff's deputies.
"This is a first step—but a big step—in making sure that Joan Meyer’s death served a purpose."
Eric Meyer, Joan Meyer's son and the current publisher of the Record, said: “The admission of wrongdoing is the most important part. In our democracy, the press is a watchdog against abuse. If the watchdog itself is the target of abuse, and all it does is roll over, democracy suffers.”
According to the Record, awards include:
- $200,000 to Eric Meyer, whose home was raided and two computers and a cellphone seized;
- $250,000 to reporter Deb Gruver, whose cell phone was seized;
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- $1 million to the estate of Joan Meyer.
Record business manager Cheri Bentz—who suffered aggravation of health conditions following one of the raids—previously settled with the county for $50,000.
Katherine Jacobsen, the US, Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, hailed the settlement as "an important win for press freedom amid a growing trend of hostility toward those who hold power to account."
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State District Judge Ryan Rosauer ruled last month that Cody likely committed a felony crime when he instructed a witness with whom he allegedly had an improper romantic relationship to delete text messages they exchanged before, during, and after the raids.
While Cody will not be tried in connection with Meyer's death or the 2023 raids, Rosauer ordered him to stand trial over the deleted texts.
Meyer at the time expressed dismay that Cody wasn't being tried for his mother's death or the raids. He also worried that Cody was being made a scapegoat, as other people and law enforcement agencies were involved in the incident.
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Five consolidated federal civil rights lawsuits have been filed in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, alleging wrongful death, unlawful searches, retaliation for protected speech, and other claims tied to the raids.
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Although unable to savor the Record's victory, Joan Meyer presciently told the officers raiding her home, "Boy, are you going to be in trouble."
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) last year issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's war in Gaza that has killed at least 69,000 Palestinians.
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Although Mamdani backed off some of his most strident past statements during the campaign, particularly when it comes to the New York Police Department (NYPD), he doubled down on arresting Netanyahu during a September interview with The New York Times.
"This is a moment where we cannot look to the federal government for leadership," Mamdani told the paper. "This is a moment when cities and states will have to demonstrate what it actually looks like to stand up for our own values, our own people."
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