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.
Today, an environmental coalition including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Ecology Center, Electric Auto Association, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Fresh Energy, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Ceres, the Greenlining Institute, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Conservation Law Foundation submitted recommendations to Volkswagen (VW) on how to most effectively spend a portion of national settlement funds to increase green transportation: the “ZEV Investment Plan.”
WASHINGTON, DC - Tomorrow, Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to begin the process of repealing several Obama-era actions tackling the climate crisis and protecting clean air and water, including steps to begin the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan, roll back Oil and Gas New Source Performance Standards, rescind NEPA guidance that directs agencies to account for the climate crisis, and end efforts to reform the broken federal coal leasing program.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Mike Lee on Monday announced that they would use an extreme and obscure legislative maneuver called the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overrule common sense clean air protections for Utah national parks. Chaffetz began by introducing legislation in the House to repeal the Regional Haze Rule for Utah.
Philadelphia, P.A.--The state of Connecticut filed a notice of intent to sue due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to address a Good Neighbor Petition filed by the state in July of 2016. Both Connecticut and Delaware filed Good Neighbor petitions stating that the Brunner Island power plant, located in Pennsylvania, is interfering with the state’s ability to comply with the ozone safeguards in the Clean Air Act. Smog-causing NOx pollution from this plant has not only been contaminating Pennsylvania’s air, but also Connecticut’s and Delaware’s.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE: Wednesday, March 1, 2017CONTACT: Shawn Dhanak, 517-449-0402, shawn.dhanak@sierraclub.org ***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MARCH 3 AT 9 AM*** Southern California Air Regulators to Take Final Vote in Major Showdown Over Air Quality Plan
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a decision holding Ameren Missouri liable for violations of the Clean Air Act at its Rush Island coal plant in Jefferson County, Missouri.
Sierra Club Michigan Chapter today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain current fuel economy standards that protect our air, land and Great Lakes. Under the Trump Administration, the EPA is reconsidering previously finalized clean cars standards that reduce tailpipe carbon pollution, improve fuel economy, and combat climate change.