In the United States, low income Black and Brown communities are already more likely to suffer the impacts from permitted pollution from petroleum facilities and other polluting industries. In addition to these known and well documented disparities, regulators have allowed for even more pollution to be released onto these overburdened communities through regulatory loopholes in the Clean Air Act known as Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction, (SSM) leaving communities exposed to dangerous levels of toxic air pollution from multiple sources. Sierra Club and partners are working to ensure EPA implements strong rule-making that eliminates SSM loopholes and prioritizes the most impacted people by upholding equal protection laws. Dozens of community and environmental groups have called on President Biden to close SSM loopholes and end free passes to pollute.
EPA allows facilities like power plants and factories to emit as much pollution as they like during periods of Start-up, Shutdown, and Malfunctions. The amount of pollution emitted during so-called “SSM events” can be 100s to 1000s of times higher than normal operations.
Did you know that there are deadly loopholes in the EPA and state Clean Air Act rules? The Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction loopholes allow polluters to ignore their permitted emission limitations -- and of course they take advantage of this! The consequences are even more deadly air pollution dumped on communities near plants and factories -- who already suffer the greatest burden from these poisons. It's time to close the loopholes! The Sierra Club has partnered with Earthjustice and community activists to create a video to shed light on this issue, and galvanize action to close the SSM loopholes.
HARRIMAN, Tenn. — On Thursday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, sued the Tennessee Valley Authority for violating the Clean Air Act and putting public health at risk by building its new Kingston Gas Plant, which TVA plans to operate alongside its 70-year-old Kingston Coal Plant, before receiving the required air permit or evaluating the impacts of the two plants’ combined emissions.
Salt Lake City – Today, the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) held a public hearing on a revision to its regional haze plan that continues to fail to reduce pollution from Utah’s worst coal offenders. In the hearing, advocates called on the agency to retain the requirement in its haze plan that coal units at the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) close by the end of 2027, as the plant’s owner originally planned to.
MONTGOMERY, Al. - Donald Trump’s administration has proposed to repeal the Endangerment Finding for power plants – a move that would permanently strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants under the Clean Air Act.
NASHVILLE - Today, Donald Trump’s administration proposed to repeal the Endangerment Finding for power plants – a move that would permanently strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants under the Clean Air Act.
ATLANTA - Today, Donald Trump’s administration proposed to repeal the Endangerment Finding for power plants – a move that would permanently strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants under the Clean Air Act.
KINGSTON, Tenn. — On Monday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, sent a notice of intent to sue to the Tennessee Valley Authority, warning the federal utility that its ongoing construction of a new methane gas plant near the site of its 70-year-old coal plant violates the Clean Air Act.
ATLANTA – The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed cutting the American public out of air pollution permits for “minor sources,” which includes the tractor trailer-sized diesel generators used by data centers for backup power. EPA’s proposal removes any requirement for transparency or public participation for “minor source” pollution sources, including most data centers.
Salt Lake City - The EPA on Tuesday proposed rescinding a Biden-era ruling to reclassify Utah's Wasatch Front from “serious” nonattainment of the 2015 ozone standards to mere “moderate” nonattainment, significantly decreasing required pollution reductions. The proposal downplays local emissions, shifting blame to foreign sources instead of reining in local emissions. EPA has issued similar proposed rulings in other states across the West.
MONTGOMERY, AL - A coalition of six organizations submitted a letter to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), demanding better protections for Alabamians in the department’s air pollution reduction plan.
Washington, DC – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal that would effectively eliminate the agency’s longstanding tool to track greenhouse gas emissions, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.