(Photo: WBOC)WASHINGTON (AP)- Environmental groups are suing to have pollution trading removed from the federal government's Chesapeake Bay restoration plan.
Food & Water Watch spokesman Scott Edwards say the environmental group filed suit along with Friends of the Earth on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. Edwards says the groups believe the restoration strategy is not strict enough and wants trading to be eliminated.
Pollution trading allows some polluters to buy credits for cuts made by others. Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia already have state programs, but a bay-wide program does not exist.
Supporters argue a trading program could encourage additional cuts by allowing the sale of credits. Others say trading must be monitored to guard against fraud and ensure that low-income and minority communities are not disproportionately affected.
