Hundreds Stand Up Against Trump’s Dirty Power Plan at Chicago Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former coal lobbyist and acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  Administrator Andrew Wheeler is holding the nation’s only hearing for public comment in Chicago today on the Trump Administration’s plan to repeal the historic Clean Power Plan (CPP) and move forward with its Dirty Power Plan. The Dirty Power Plan rolls back pollution controls on coal-fired plants and doesn't demand pollution reductions from states or plant owners and operators , despite undeniable proof that major cuts are needed for public health and to combat the climate crisis.

EPA’s own analysis has shown that the Dirty Power Plan would also lead to as many as 1,400 premature deaths from increased soot (as well as 230 deaths from increased smog), up to 15,000 new cases of upper respiratory problems, and more than one hundred thousand missed school and work days annually by 2030.

In response, Mary Anne Hitt, Senior Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, released the following statement:

“Hundreds of community leaders, public health officials, and concerned residents are standing up against the Trump Administration’s reckless, dangerous rollback of the Clean Power Plan today because it will put thousands of lives in danger and will exacerbate the worst impacts of the climate crisis. To make matters worse, the Administration’s Dirty Power Plan is illegally weak and sets no real emission standards for the dirty coal plants, which undermines the Clean Air Act and gives millionaire coal executives more loopholes to exploit in order to pollute with greater impunity. Andrew Wheeler and the Trump Administration should be ashamed of their extreme apathy toward the struggles of working communities dealing with coal pollution and the climate crisis. We will not let this Dirty Power Plan stand without a fight and we will hold them accountable for their subservience to the coal industry.”