Ricky Junquera, ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org
Neil Waggoner, Neil.Waggoner@SierraClub.org, 330-730-5109
On January 18 - Sierra Club and partners including the Ohio Environmental Council, and individual Ohio residents represented by the AltmanNewman law firm, took action to stop the rollback of a critical environmental and public health rule instigated by the former Trump Administration.
Last March 23 -- one day after Ohio’s first shutdown order went into effect -- the Trump Administration notified the public of its intent to illegally roll back the “nuisance provision” of Ohio’s state implementation plan of the Clean Air Act. The provision, which has been in place since Ohio’s first state implementation plan was approved in 1974, allows for individuals and organizations to hold big polluters accountable for harm to the health, safety, or welfare of fenceline communities and take legal action when state or federal agencies fail to act.
The Trump Administration’s roll-back notice in the Federal Register came just as the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States was becoming clear. Ohio’s nuisance rule is just one of many environmental and public health protections Trump’s anti-science, pro-polluter lackeys attempted to erase as Americans began to confront a dangerous new respiratory illness. Instead of focusing on protecting Americans, the Trump Administration focused on making it easier for big polluters to make the air Ohioans breathe and the water we drink dirtier.
Sierra Club, its members and allies, strenuously opposed this rollback before it was finalized only two months before the end of Trump’s term. During the comment period on the draft rule, over 1,000 Ohioans commented calling for the nuisance rule to stay in place. On Monday, Jan 18, Sierra Club and partners filed a petition for reconsideration of the U.S. EPA’s final rule and an appeal with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse this illegal rollback.
“The nuisance provision is a critical environmental and public health protection,” said Neil Waggoner, Senior Campaign Representative with Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Ohio. “The Trump Administration’s disregard for these sorts of protections was common and inexcusable. It’s our hope the Biden Administration makes quick work of stopping this illegal rollback and instead focuses on strengthening protections against big polluters.”
“This effort by the Sierra Club and others is needed to restore one of the most effective tools Ohio citizens have used for over 40 years to enforce Clean Air Act standards. The Trump Administration’s rollback is illegal,” said Marilyn Wall - Ms. Wall has worked on citizen enforcement in Ohio for years.
The elimination of Ohio’s nuisance provision is just one of hundreds of anti-science, damaging environmental regulations proposed and finalized by the Trump Administration. Recognizing the harm and illegality of many of these measures, the incoming Biden Administration EPA General Counsel issued a letter on January 21 directing attorneys for the EPA and DOJ to seek abeyances in all pending litigation seeking judicial review of Trump Administration environmental regulations while the new EPA leadership evaluates the challenged rule. Sierra Club hopes the directive will apply to this just-filed litigation.
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.