Trey Pollard, trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON D.C.-- Today marks the end of the comment period for Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider rolling back life-saving standards and rules for our clean air and water and our climate. During the comment period, more than 50,000 people across the country voiced their opposition to the proposed rollbacks.
The process to review said safeguards and rules was highly controversial as Pruitt provided little advanced notice, and only held meetings in the Washington, DC region, not in the communities across the country suffering from polluted air and water. This process has been widely-viewed as undermining the EPA’s core mission: protecting human health and the environment.
In response, Sierra Club Associate Director of Federal and Administrative Advocacy Matthew Gravatt released the following statement:
“Though this process tried to ignore those who benefit most from environmental and health protections, American families across the country have made their voices heard loud and clear that they will not permit Trump and Pruit to pollute their clean air and water. People across the country, and most importantly those most vulnerable to pollution and toxic exposure in the communities where they live or attend school, are demanding the fundamental rights that every American enjoys: clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment, all of which have been thrown into doubt by Trump’s sham review process.
“This single-minded (and closed-minded) focus on eliminating protections is yet another attack by Trump and Pruitt to undermine or outright ignore EPA’s core mission to protect human health and the environment. These safeguards have delivered enormous benefits to the public in fulfilling the EPA’s obligations--obligations that a regulatory review will not change. With so much at stake, it’s more important than ever that these 50,000 American voices be heard.”
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