Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
Yesterday, Donald Trump’s acting EPA Administrator and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler announced his plans to direct the Agency to reconsider the life-saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), the commonsense safeguards designed to dramatically curb the emission of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, and other heavy metals and acid gases from coal-fired power plants. These toxics, in even incremental amounts, are known to pose serious dangers to public health, particularly for pregnant women and young children.
Yet, despite the indisputable benefits of protecting the public from toxic pollution, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has expressed skepticism as to MATS’ value. In his answers to his Senate confirmation questionnaire, Kavanaugh said that he regards his 2014 dissent in White Stallion Energy Ctr., LLC v. EPA -- in which he opined that EPA had adopted the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in error -- as one of his top 10 most significant opinions.
By the EPA’s own estimate, the life-saving protections provided by MATS prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 100,000 asthma and heart attacks, and create up to $90 billion in healthcare benefits annually. As his opinion in White Stallion shows, however, Brett Kavanaugh has demonstrated a consistent tendency to favor corporate polluters’ profits over public health.
Likely legal challenges to Wheeler’s rollback of MATS could end up before the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing is slated to begin on Tuesday, September 4.
In response, Sierra Club Democracy Program Director Courtney Hight released the following statement:
“If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court, women, children, and working families across the country -- from Maine to Alaska, from Nevada to Tennessee -- will be at risk. The threat posed by the Trump Administration’s reconsideration of these public health standards highlights the danger posed by Brett Kavanaugh’s willingness to tilt the law towards polluters, and away from the public’s health. Our children and our families cannot afford the risk of Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and his inevitable rubber stamp on Trump’s and corporate polluters’ attacks on clean air and clean water. If our Senators want to protect our health, they will reject Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination immediately.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.