Brian Willis, Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club to issue government records requests in the states to ensure power plants and oil and gas operators control pollution
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Sierra Club announced a new “polluter watchdog” program today, by issuing Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA) and state-based open records requests to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulators who are refusing to enforce public health safeguards during the pandemic. The environmental organization decided to launch the program soon after the Trump Administration chose to use the coronavirus pandemic as justification to suspend EPA’s enforcement of pollution standards. With the program’s launch, Sierra Club is pledging to hold violating polluters accountable to state and federal laws, and to protect vulnerable communities from illegal levels of pollution.
“Eliminating EPA’s enforcement of pollution standards at a time when millions of people’s lungs are under attack by the coronavirus is a disgrace that will only exacerbate the public health crisis,” said Michael Brune, Sierra Club’s Executive Director. “We refuse to stand by and let polluters take advantage of communities at a time when the Trump Administration should be doing everything possible to protect people’s health.”
The new Trump EPA policy lets companies use the coronavirus as an excuse to “self-monitor” air and water pollution, with little oversight or enforcement from the EPA. Trump’s policy also assures polluting companies that EPA may not penalize them if they violate air and water pollution limits (many of which control highly toxic substances). Instead, the Trump EPA policy merely asks companies to “act responsibly,” essentially giving polluters free rein to evade requirements designed to protect the public health of our communities.
The Trump EPA policy comes at a time when direct links are being made between high levels of air pollution and advanced cases of COVID-19, which attacks the lungs. The Sierra Club will target states and companies that represent some of the worst sources of pollution in the nation, such as coal plants and oil and gas operations that already threaten the health of thousands of communities with pollution. Coal plants emit massive amounts of Nitrogen Dioxide (NOx) and Sulfur Dioxide (SOx), two pollutants known to cause damage to people’s lungs and autoimmune systems.
For a full release of the regions, states, and companies Sierra Club is targeting, please contact Brian Willis, federal press secretary for the Beyond Coal campaign.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.