Pruitt's EPA Withdraws 22 Year Old Air Pollution Policy Considered One of its Bedrock Environmental Protections

Scott Pruitt has called for the dissolution of much of the EPA, yet now runs the Environmental Protection Agency.  He is a seasoned legal opponent of the agency and is incredibly effective tool for Trump and Republican efforts to dismantle regulations on climate change and clean water and "get rid" of the agency.  Pruitt and the White House are waging a war against science, safety, and common sense in order to benefit their favored corporate interests.  At a time when our nation and the world would benefit from a more supported EPA, the exact opposite has occurred; an impossible pill to swallow.

The Trump administration is withdrawing a decades-old air policy aimed at reining in some of the largest sources of hazardous pollutants like mercury and lead.  The policy, dating back to 1995, requires facilities that annually emit 10 tons or more of a single air pollutant or 25 tons or more of a group of pollutants to use the maximum achievable technology controls to lower their pollution. Deploying the technology required by that standard can lower pollution by as much as 95%. It applies to nearly 200 pollutants, including arsenic, dioxins, lead and mercury.

In an attempt to place economic interests above the environment, Trump and Pruitt continue to undo our environmental protection rules.

The Environmental Protection Agency said.... it is getting rid of requirements that it forever keep sites classified as “major sources” of hazardous air pollution once they meet that classification.... keeping factories and other sites under heavy regulation..... Environmentalists and congressional critics decried the change, saying it is one of the EPA’s bedrock environmental regulations that keeps polluters from trimming back to just below the major-source classification cutoff to avoid requirements that could further lower their emissions.

The change will primarily help steel, paper and chemical makers among other manufacturing sites, said Jeff Holmstead.... who led the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation during Mr. Bush’s first term.   “It certainly does give manufacturing plants more flexibility....It certainly does reduce the regulatory burden.”

Paul Krugman summarized the issue succinctly in August 2017: "...don’t say that the administration’s agenda is stalled.  Some parts are, but other parts are moving right along. When it comes to environmental policy, Trump will definitely change America — and his legacy will literally be toxic."

[The[ move, “drastically weakens protective limits on air pollutants…that cause cancer, brain damage, infertility, developmental problems and even death,” John Walke, the NRDC’s clean air director, said in a statement. “And those harmed most would be nearby communities already suffering a legacy of pollution.”

---

ACTION: Organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Coucil, 350.org, the Sierra Club will be fighting hard against this administration.  Read up on their work at their web sites, follow them on Twitter, and give a donation to them or similar groups.  We need environmental groups to be well funded to fight this fight.  Their web sites have concrete ways you can get involved beyond giving them money if this fighting for this cause drives you.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/epa-withdraws-air-pollution-policy-1516935178