WASHINGTON, D.C. -- EPA Administrator Michael Regan has announced that the Biden EPA will formally reconsider one of the most toxic clean water rollbacks of the Trump era.
Specifically, the Trump administration finalized a rollback of water pollution safeguards for power plants on August 31, 2020. This attack on public health allowed coal power plants, already the largest industrial source of toxic wastewater discharges, to continue dumping arsenic, bromide, lead, mercury, selenium, and other dangerous chemicals into our nation’s waters, doing disproportionate harm to the most vulnerable communities in the country.
The Sierra Club is deeply invested in these clean water safeguards because we are working toward a just, equitable, and sustainable future built on a foundation of racial, economic, and gender equity – where all people benefit from a healthy thriving planet and a direct connection to nature.
BACKGROUND ON ELG PROGRAM:
The Clean Water Act’s Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) program requires EPA to set pollution limits for discharges from various industries. Prior to being finalized in 2015, the ELGs for the power plant industry had not been updated since 1982, despite the fact that coal-burning power plants and other steam electric power plants are the largest toxic water polluters in the country. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for an estimated 30% of all toxic pollution dumped into surface waters. In 2017, the Trump EPA halted implementation of the 2015 rule, and then significantly weakened its protections in 2020.
In Response, Sierra Club Acting Deputy Director of Policy, Advocacy and Legal Dalal Aboulhosn, Released the Following Statement:
“Thank you Administrator Regan for prioritizing a fix for this essential clean water safeguard and protecting marginalized communities across the nation. Now is the time to double down on policies that protect clean water for all communities, and to do so as quickly as possible, because everyone should have fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, safe homes and healthy communities, no matter our race, age, identity, income or zip code.
“Donald Trump’s rollback of these clean water safeguards ignored science and public safety. By weakening national water pollution standards for coal-burning power plants, Trump gave a free pass to an industry that is the number one toxic water polluter in the United States. We applaud the Biden-Harris administration for putting communities above polluters.
“Coal plant wastewater is full of pollutants like arsenic, mercury, selenium, and lead that are dangerous to the health of our kids and families, and wreak havoc on water resources even in small amounts. Now is the time to stop these toxic chemicals from entering our communities.
“Affordable technologies exist to limit nearly all of the toxic metals and other chemicals in power plant wastewater, and many plants are already using them. Fixing Trump’s rollback as quickly as possible will help ensure that the safest technology is being used across the country, and will help advance the project of restoring the right of all people and every community to clean air, clean water, and a sustainable, healthy climate.”
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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.