Arizona lawmakers sue Biden administration over EPA pollution rule

March 27 (UPI) -- Arizona's Republican legislative leaders and the state's Chamber of Commerce sued the Environmental Protection Agency over new pollution standards.

The filing in a Washington appeals court on Monday said the new EPA standards were "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion" that would damage the economy and called on the court to vacate it. Arizona's Senate President Warren Peterson, released a statement saying it is being joined by House Speaker Ben Toma and the chamber in the lawsuit.

"The Biden administration should be rewarding American businesses for being the most environmentally friendly in the world," Peterson said in a statement. "Instead, they are doubling down on their left-wing agenda. Their rule will create unnecessary hardships for job creators and hardworking Arizonans."

Peterson said new construction that would improve safety would be stopped, permits in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties would be blocked and small businesses would be forced to pay for expensive new equipment and

He added that eight counties would be now ruled out of compliance with EPA guidelines and it would force jobs to go overseas.

"The EPA should focus on mitigating wildfires, the primary source of pollution," Peterson said. "It will detrimentally impact our power grid and create even more red tape for both small and large businesses. We have no choice but to ask the courts to provide relief from this tyrannical, arbitrary and illegal move by the EPA."

The EPA's new rule targets PM 2.5, which researchers say can get into the bloodstream and cause everything from strokes to heart attacks and asthma. The 2.5 microns particles can come from wildfires, fireplaces, wood-burning ovens, burning coal and other manufacturing processes,

The EPA finalized the new rule in February, saying it would prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, to $46 billion in health benefits by 2032.