Environmentalists sued the Environmental Protection Agency Monday after the agency allowed a select number of power plants to shutter some pollution controls.
The Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among others, asked a court to reconsider the rule change, which activists consider a loophole for polluters. The lawsuit comes as activists continue criticizing the President Donald Trump’s administration’s climate policies.
“Once again, the Trump administration is putting the health of polluter balance sheets over the health of our families and children,” Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign director Mary Anne Hitt said in a statement. “Real people will pay the price with this cruel decision, and we will do everything we can to stop it.”
The agency put out regulatory guidance in January repealing the “once in, always in” policy, which demanded power plants considered “major” sources of hazardous air pollutants were always regulated as such no matter their pollution mitigating efforts.
EPA’s new guidance would “reduce regulatory burden for industries and the states, while continuing to ensure stringent and effective controls on hazardous air pollutants,” EPA Air Office head William Wehrum said in the January guidance letter.
The “once in, always in” standard discouraged reducing pollution, Wehrum said. He targeted it as part of the Trump administration’s overarching goal of cutting regulatory burdens. The four-page memorandum was published to the Federal Register without a public comment period.
NOW WATCH a study find global warming temperatures were overestimated:
EPA’s new guidance came after the agency issued guidance March 13 to clear up uncertainties in obtaining air quality permits required to build or modify facilities, like power plants and refineries. The new guidance, or New Source Review (NSR), would make it easier to launch new projects or expand existing ones while maintaining air quality protections, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt said.
Companies put off installing new technology for years over NSR, industries argue.
Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.