Democratic senators launch inquiry into EPA’s repeal of key air pollution enforcement measure | US Environmental Protection Agency
More than three dozen Democratic senators have launched an independent investigation into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a sweeping change in how the agency measures the health benefits of reducing air pollution, widely seen as a major setback in U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis.
In a regulatory impact analysis, the EPA said it would stop placing a monetary value on the health benefits associated with fine particulate matter and ozone regulations. The agency argued that the estimates contain too much uncertainty.
Previously, the EPA quantified the benefits of cleaner air, taking into account outcomes such as fewer premature deaths and reduced illness, including asthma attacks.
The 2009 Hazard Statement determined that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare and therefore should be controlled by the EPA. By repealing it on Thursday, authorities eliminated the legal basis for the government to control pollution caused by global warming.
The senators criticized the updated policy as “particularly troubling” and said the repeal “destroys this framework and results in a failure to faithfully carry out EPA’s statutory mandate to protect human health,” according to a letter sent to the EPA Thursday.
The effort is led by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse. Lawmakers asked the EPA to provide documents and details explaining how it reached its decision by February 26.
Senate Democrats seek reasoning behind EPA decision; what factors the agency will consider when developing rules for the Clean Air Act; whether it has considered no longer quantifying the health effects of other pollutants; and whether it consulted with outside parties, including the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Surgeon General, or public health specialists.
“It’s literally no surprise that they knew their hand-picked climate deniers weren’t publishing real science,” Whitehouse wrote on X in response to an article suggesting the Trump administration had ignored scientists’ recommendations. “Their nonsense was never real, but is part of a fraudulent propaganda campaign, designed by fossil fuels to protect its ‘free to pollute’ business model. »
The repeal is part of Trump’s sweeping attacks on US climate policy. On Thursday, he declared that the finding of endangerment constituted “the basis of the new green scam”. Since returning to office last January, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to repeal pollution regulations and promote fossil fuel production. Critics say this anti-environment agenda benefits the president’s fossil fuel donors.
Trump’s decision drew widespread condemnation from climate scientists and advocates for environmental protection, public health and economic justice. Asked Thursday to address environmental concerns about the new rule, Trump responded, “Don’t worry.”
“It has nothing to do with public health,” he said of the endangerment. “This is all a scam, a giant scam.”
