Georgia removes air pollution rules because it says it has no dirty air

Georgia wants to remove its rules for new factories that would add to air pollution. The state says these rules are no longer needed because all its areas now meet federal clean air standards.

For decades, federal law required states to have special permitting rules for new industrial facilities in areas with dirty air. These rules made it harder and more expensive to build new plants that would add to pollution. Georgia is now claiming it no longer has any such areas, which means it can remove these extra hurdles for new construction.