New environmental cops: state attorneys general

That resulted in a landmark settlement with the industry, which agreed to pay more than $200 billion over 25 years to the states as well as to change their practices. During the Clinton administration, AGs from the northeastern states also brought lawsuits against the major coal-fired utilities to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Several of the companies have settled, agreeing to multibillion-dollar environmental improvements. Others are still in court or mediation.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has led the latest state assaults on federal territory by taking on mutual-fund companies usually regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and pharmaceutical firms usually regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Only last week, Mr. Spitzer and six other AGs challenged the EPA's decision to exempt the ballast-water discharges from ships from federal pollution rules, which could affect the health of the Great Lakes as well as the shipping industry.

When the Bush administration took over, the EPA also tried to make it easier for utilities with older coal-burning plants to upgrade their facilities, without going through extensive environmental upgrades. But last December, the AGs got a federal judge to block implementation of the new rules until they could be challenged in court. "Thanks to the attorneys general, the rollbacks are on hold," says Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust, an environmental group. "They have shown some real clout."

The move Wednesday marks the first time a group of AGs has sued over carbon dioxide, which is not listed as a pollutant by the EPA, in part because it's a natural part of the environment. The lawsuit singles out five large Midwest power companies that burn coal, which, they say, emit about 650 tons of carbon dioxide a year. "We contend it is a pollutant in these volumes and is devastating public health," says William Sorrell, Vermont's attorney general.

Yet the utility industry, which has been battling the eastern AGs for years, disagrees. It argues that it is voluntarily reducing its emissions and says there are not enough other "clean" fuels, such as natural gas, to supply the power needed for the economy. "We think this is a misguided way to approach climate change," says Jim Owen of the Edison Electric Institute, an industry group.

Scott Segal of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, another utility group, calls it a "nuisance" lawsuit. "Given that every human being emits carbon dioxide every day, the next thing we anticipate from these attorneys general is a collective demand to hold our breath."

But Mr. Sorrell says if predictions of warmer temperatures come true, it will mean major changes in Vermont: "The maple forests would suffer greatly, and we'll be known for our oak and pine forest, not the world's best maple syrup."

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