Sen. Tom Carper joined education leaders and climate advocates
in Wilmington Friday to call on the Biden administration to crack down on cross-state air pollution.
Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment Control estimates more than 90% of the state’s air pollution actually originates in other states.
Sen. Carper is confident President Biden will address cross-state pollution through executive order sometime this year.
He said coal plants in Pennsylvania, for example, already have air cleaning technology built in, but choose not to use it to save money.
“It is not hard. The technology is in play, just have to use it. It costs a little money to use it, but we spend a lot of money (in Delaware) because we have asthmatic kids, kids who can’t go to school, people who get hospitalized, people that die. It’s just not fair.”
Carper said the state’s most vulnerable and underserved communities suffer the most from pollution.
The American Lung Association gave New Castle County a failing grade for ozone pollution in its recently released annual report.
Carper is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
