COLUMBIA--State Attorney General Henry McMaster did not consult state environmental regulators before joining a lawsuit supporting new federal air pollution standards that many think will hurt air quality.

New U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules regulating when plants have to update their air pollution technology are scheduled to take effect Monday.

But about a dozen other states, mostly from the Northeast with Democratic attorneys general, have sued to stop the air regulations. Those states argue the rules contain loopholes that will allow industries to release more air pollution.

McMaster's decision puts South Carolina on the side of eight Midwestern, Western and Southern states -- most of which have Republican attorneys general.

Supporters say the new rules will encourage industries to voluntarily clean up air pollution.

McMaster's office took the word of the Virginia attorney general and the White House, which urged him to back air regulations supported by President Bush.

And that's partly what has environmentalists upset.

"Not consulting with your state environmental agency is almost incredible; it is certainly foolish not to get the best advice from the experts," said Frank O'Donnell, director of the Clean Air Trust.

While officials at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control did not criticize McMaster's decision, the agency's chief air regulator said DHEC was reluctant to get involved in the lawsuit.

Jim Joy, DHEC's director of air quality, said his agency had intended to see how the court battles played out.

"The decision of whether to do this or not rests" with the attorney general, Joy said.

McMaster spokesman Trey Walker said the attorney general didn't need to contact DHEC.

"What we're talking about now is not a regulatory question, but a legal question," Walker said. "We were fairly well convinced by the Virginia attorney general's office, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House."

McMaster only plans to lend his name, not his time, to the suit, Walker said.

The air dispute is part of a broader debate about changes in federal environmental policy proposed or enacted by the Bush administration. Critics say many Bush initiatives are biased toward industry and against environmental protection, but supporters say they cut red tape.