Delaware officials embrace new air rules

Delaware officials say an Obama administration plan for reducing pollutants blamed for global warming mirrors steps that Delaware already has taken to improve air quality. 

The proposed rules released Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency call for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent over the next 15 years.

Delaware environmental secretary Collin O’Mara says the proposed rules simply echo what Delaware already has done on its own and as part of a regional greenhouse gas initiative with eight other states.

O’Mara noted that Delaware has only one coal-fired power plant, the NRG Energy facility at Indian River, where some $300 million in clean-energy investments have been made.

O’Mara says the Indian River facility has gone from being one of the dirtiest in the country to one of the cleanest.