News In Brief

State pollution controls may not scare businesses

States doing the most to improve environmental quality - such as Minnesota and California - are not forcing industry to flee to ''pollution havens,'' the Conservation Foundation said in a report Wednesday.

In a study on environmental regulations and their impact on where industry locates new facilities, the Washington-based organization found that states with the most active environmental programs also are successful in attracting new industry.

Along with the report, the foundation released a ranking of states according to their environmental-quality efforts. Using a complex formula of 23 environmental and land-use indicators, the foundation ranked Minnesota No. 1 among the 50 states and California second, followed by New Jersey; Massachusetts; Oregon and Washington; Maryland; Montana; and New York and Wisconsin, which tied for seventh. At the other end of the scale, Alabama is ranked lowest. Other states with low rankings are Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho, and New Mexico.