August 16, 2023
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – This week the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with polluters in a case that would have reduced air pollution in Wyoming’s national parks and public lands across the region.
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.
- Read how SSM loopholes can effect communities.
- Learn more about the SSM loopholes in this fact sheet.
- Read the letter to President Biden: Protect Fenceline Communities
Watch and Take Action
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.
Press Releases
August 8, 2023
Today, the Sierra Club and partners delivered more than one million public comments calling on the Biden Administration to tackle climate change by adopting the strongest possible carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel power plants.
June 13, 2023
Washington, D.C. – Today, EPA published notice of a proposed consent decree requiring the agency to review and, if appropriate, revise Clean Air Act standards that protect people and communities from dangerous pollution emitted by new gas-burning power plants.
June 12, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An overwhelming majority of scientific experts on EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) recommended on Friday that EPA substantially strengthen the national standards for ozone, a harmful pollutant and a main component of smog.
May 25, 2023
A report released by the Sierra Club today reveals that by strengthening and enforcing federal air quality standards, the owners of 64% of remaining coal plants would be required to more stringently address harmful pollution from their facilities.
May 11, 2023
Today, President Biden’s EPA proposed tough new federal climate pollution standards for the electric power sector, the nation’s second-largest source of climate-disrupting greenhouse gas pollution.
April 12, 2023
On Tuesday, officials advised residents to evacuate their homes due to a significant industrial fire in Richmond, Indiana.
April 6, 2023
EPA is taking action against harmful air pollution from chemical manufacturing facilities.
April 5, 2023
Today, the EPA proposed strengthening protections against heavy metals, mercury and other hazardous air pollution emitted from power plants, protecting vulnerable communities from some of the most dangerous types of air pollution.
March 28, 2023
A coalition of environmental, public health, and community groups submitted nearly 600,000 public comments to EPA in support of strong national ambient air quality standards for soot