Brian Willis: 202.675.2386, Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals put a hold on arguments over clean air protections from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - illustrating yet again the Trump Administration’s strategy of asking federal courts to allow his EPA Administrator to delay lifesaving public health protections, which is widely believed to be a ploy to eventually weaken or scrap them altogether.
Yesterday’s hold was put on a lawsuit brought by coal companies and refineries against a recent EPA decision to close the loopholes which allowed fossil fuel plants to spew unlimited air pollution into communities during startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) periods. The loophole had been decried by environmental organizations, public health advocates, and environmental justice groups for decades as a glaring giveaway to polluters at the expense of the people living around power plants, who are disproportionately part of low-income communities and communities of color.
“It is very disappointing and frustrating that the new EPA is attempting to undo the SSM rule that would hold polluters accountable for their constant upset events that directly and adversely impact the health and safety of environmental justice communities,” said Suzie Canales, founder of Citizens for Environmental Justice. “These communities live under barbaric conditions due to their close proximity to heavy industry and they pay the price for the products the rest if the country leisurely enjoy. We're not asking for these industries to be run out of town, we're simply asking for them to abide by the Clean Air Act.”
In May of 2015, the EPA closed the SSM loopholes by requiring 36 states to revise provisions in their policies that exempted SSM events from Clean Air Act protections and allow polluters to avoid responsibility for repeated violations. Some facilities, such as coal plants and oil refineries, had been known to release more pollution during SSM episodes than they normally emitted during an entire year, presenting major health risks to local people with asthma, children, and seniors that unsuspectingly venture outside for daily activities. EPA’s decision to take action was met with celebration by communities that suffered under heavy pollution, but the court’s decision late yesterday put them back on guard.
“Thousands of families who live near refineries and coal plants have waited decades for action to close these loopholes that put their health and well-being at risk -- and within his first 100 days, Donald Trump chose to ignore them in favor of billionaire polluters who refuse to be held accountable to the communities they poison,” said Leslie Fields, Director of Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice Program. “Clean air is a basic human right that should never be rationed by your income or the color of your skin, which is why we’ll fight any attempt to reopen those horrible loopholes.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters nationwide. In addition to creating opportunities for people of all ages, levels and locations to have meaningful outdoor experiences, the Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation. For more information, visit http://www.sierraclub.org.