NEW YORK - New York state has sued the US Environmental Protection Agency for failing to divulge information about the levels of toxins that paint manufacturers are allowed to release into the air.
State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called the information critical to the state's ability to enforce environmental laws and announced on Wednesday he was suing Washington under the federal Freedom of Information Act and the Clean Air Act.
"After being denied access to records about volatile compounds for nearly two years, the state was left with no option but to sue the federal government for improperly withholding documents in violation of both laws," Spitzer's office said in a statement.
The EPA said in a statement it intended to provide New York with "all the information it is entitled to."
"The agency is looking into the matter in order to provide the state a final response to its request," it said.
Spitzer, who is running for governor of New York this year, is best known for his investigations into white collar crime on Wall Street.
The dispute stems from an EPA law regulating the amount of volatile organic compounds that can be used in certain paints, stains and varnishes that contribute to smog, which in turn may harm human and plant life, Spitzer's statement said.
The law allows paint manufacturers to exceed limits if they pay a fee to the EPA. The "pay to spray" fees range from hundreds of dollars a year to more than $5 million paid by Sherwin-Williams Co, the statement said.
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