---

The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday in an attempt to prevent new regulations regarding the use of low sulphur fuel for ships from being enforced.

Starting from August 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard for ships will require marine ocean carriers in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska to use fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 1 percent. The new requirements are due to be tightened even further to 0.1 percent from the start of 2015.

In a statement released on Friday, State Attorney General Michael Geraghty said: "Alaska relies heavily on maritime traffic, both for goods shipped to and from the state, and for the cruise ship passengers who support thousands of Alaskan jobs. "There are reasonable and equally effective alternatives for the secretary and the EPA to consider which would still protect the environment but dramatically reduce the severe impact these regulations will have on Alaskan jobs and families."

The suit also maintains that the decision to include Alaska coastlines in the enforcement area was based on flawed or incomplete data. The state notes that the EPA admitted it failed to perform the air quality modeling in Alaska that it performed in other areas.

"For that reason and others, the state believes the EPA has neither the scientific basis nor legal authority to extend the (control area) to Alaska," the statement said.

Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE), one of Alaska’s largest shipping companies, estimates that moving to low sulphur fuel will result in an increase of about 8 percent in its total costs.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski applauded Alaska Governor Sean Parnell [pictured] for challenging the EPA in court over the new low-sulphur fuel standards.

“Given the immediacy of the threat that these requirements pose to Alaska, Governor Parnell’s decision to file litigation against the EPA is the right one. The only way to avoid the damage these requirements will cause is for a judge to issue a stay against them before they go into effect Aug. 1,” Murkowski said.

The lawsuit names as plaintiffs Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Coast Guard Commandant Robert Papp and their respective agencies.

In addition to filing suit, the state gave the Secretary, the EPA, and other federal agencies notice that Alaska will amend its complaint to add claims under the Administrative Procedures Act. Those claims will aim to reinforce the state’s case that the EPA cannot enforce the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) in Alaska.

Image: Sean Parnell, Governor of Alaska.