EPA targets California over poor air quality

The Trump administration is taking aim at poor air quality in California, telling the state it risks losing federal highway funds unless it addresses the problem.

In a letter Tuesday to the California Air Resources Board, the Environmental Protection Agency describes the state’s air quality as the worst in the country, with 34 million people living in areas that do not meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. That is twice the number of people as in any other state.

It calls on the state to address what the agency said was a backlog in plans aimed at reducing poor air quality.

The move is the latest battle the Trump administration has picked with California over its environmental policies.

Last week, the Trump administration revoked California’s authority to set its own emission standards.