New Jersey, four other states and New York City are suing the Trump administration again to try to force it to clamp down on upwind states that contribute significantly to poor air quality in the Garden State.

The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on behalf of the states, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to address the issue even after an appeals court ruled last year that it must do so.

“We already beat EPA in court and won an order demanding the federal government tackle out-of-state pollution, and yet EPA still did not act," Grewal said in a statement. "Enough is enough: this is a serious environmental and public health problem, and it demands a serious response from Washington."

Enesta Jones, an EPA spokeswoman, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Prevailing winds send pollution into New Jersey from Midwest states where there are coal-burning power plants, including Pennsylvania and Ohio.

About half of New Jersey's air pollution comes from other states, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

That causes ozone levels to spike to unhealthy levels in New Jersey several days during the year.

North Jersey and New York City ranked as the 10th-worst metropolitan area in the U.S. for levels of ozone, the main ingredient in smog, which can trigger asthma attacks, according to a 2018 report by the American Lung Association.

Much of the Jersey Shore and the South Jersey counties outside Philadelphia also received failing grades over a three-year period from 2014 to 2016, the latest data show.

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The federal Clean Air Act's "Good Neighbor" provision requires the EPA to take action against states whose air pollution doesn't allow other states like New Jersey to meet federal air quality standards.

The lawsuit says Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia "contribute significantly” to New Jersey’s poor air quality and inability to meet federal ozone standards.

North Jersey and the New York metropolitan region have to meet those standards by 2021 or be penalized. But that will be calculated based on ozone levels from 2018 to 2020 during the warmer months.

Grewal said the lawsuit was filed now because ozone levels tend to begin to rise in May.

The other states suing are New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts.

Check back for updates on this story.

Scott Fallon covers the environment for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news about how New Jersey’s environment affects your health and well-being, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: fallon@northjersey.com Twitter: @newsfallon