Environmental Coalition Urges Biden Administration to Close Egregious Environmental Justice Loopholes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, a broad coalition of 95 environmental organizations and local community groups called on the Biden Administration to fix a glaring environmental justice problem by closing the Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction (SSM) loopholes. The groups sent a letter and filed a legal petition to urge EPA to prioritize closing the loopholes, which allow polluting facilities like coal plants and oil refineries to release unlimited amounts of dangerous air pollution during routine events, without facing legal consequences under the Clean Air Act. This toxic pollution causes severe health consequences in fenceline and nearby communities and has historically had a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color that live near polluting facilities. 

“Closing all of these SSM loopholes should be a big part of the Biden-Harris administration’s plan for building back better in the Gulf Region,” said Juan Parras, Executive Director of t.e.j.a.s. “Communities along the Houston Ship Channel and across Texas know firsthand there is virtually no accountability for facilities that dump huge amounts of deadly pollution into the air we breathe during these events – it’s unacceptable and we deserve better. We need strong leadership and clear direction from EPA to end these free passes to pollute and close these loopholes once and for all.”

“It is critical that EPA end this giant loophole in the Clean Air Act that is used daily across the nation by industrial facilities to avoid meeting the emission limitations in their air permits,” said Jesse Marquez, Executive Director of the Coalition for a Safe Environment, based in Los Angeles. “Our communities have suffered too long from these noxious emissions that damage our health.” 

The groups sent a letter to President Biden and Administrator Regan to tackle these unjust loopholes, which exacerbate health impacts from huge polluters like refineries, coal plants, and chemical plants, with direct, decisive actions across all Clean Air Act programs. Oil refineries have reported releasing more pollution during SSM events than they emitted during normal operations throughout the entire year. In a state like Texas, which produces a lot of energy, SSM events represent major health risks to local people with chronic ailments like asthma, especially children and seniors who venture outside for daily activities. 

The coalition also sent a petition for reconsideration and rulemaking to EPA today regarding the loopholes in state rules. The SSM loopholes appear in many clean air protections, both those established by EPA and by more than 36 states around the country, including Texas, Delaware and Colorado. Though federal courts have repeatedly found these loopholes illegal over the last 12 years, and the Obama EPA took important steps to remove them from many protections, progress stalled during the Trump administration. There are four related cases regarding the state rules being held in abeyance in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals while the Biden administration considers its next steps. 

The 95 groups are urging the Biden administration to fix the loopholes across all Clean Air Act rules, not just the loopholes in the state rules that are the subject of the legal petition and the D.C. Circuit cases. Many consider this SSM problem to be one of the most pervasive environmental justice problems in the country.