Thursday, July 22, 2010, 3:45pm PDT | Modified: July 22, 2010, 3:45 PM

Oregon joins greenhouse gas lawsuit

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Oregon has joined 12 other states in support of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial sources.

The EPA last year began requiring permits for large industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In response, a group backed by oil, steel and chemical industries filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions under the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Oregon and the other states intervened today on behalf of the EPA's position.

"The science is clear," said Oregon Attorney General John Kroger in a statement. "Global climate change harms public health, and the EPA is taking the right approach by focusing on the big sources of pollution."