SEEC, Castor Criticize Trump Administration’s Rollback of Strong Standards for Polluting Power Plants
Washington, D.C. – The leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Quigley, and Paul Tonko and Vice Chairs Reps. Don Beyer, Suzanne Bonamici, Sean Casten, Mike Levin, and Chellie Pingree, alongside SEEC Member Rep. Kathy Castor, released the following statement in response to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin’s decision to repeal strong pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants.
“With EPA Administrator Zeldin’s decision to roll back strong limits on pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, Donald Trump’s billionaire and big polluter donors are celebrating the return to a time when they were able to pollute freely at the expense of Americans’ health. This reckless decision represents yet another assault on life-saving pollution protections that American communities rely on to live healthy lives.
“It is EPA’s obligation under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act to set limits on pollution from dirty power plants to protect the health and wellbeing of the American people. Just because Administrator Zeldin finds this fact inconvenient does not make it any less true. Section 111 is not a suggestion; it is the law. And the Supreme Court has affirmed that EPA is obligated to regulate greenhouse gas pollution. While Trump’s EPA might claim that U.S. power plants are not significantly contributing to global emissions and climate change, the science is clear. The U.S. is the second largest contributor to climate pollution in the world, and our power sector is our second most polluting sector. Overturning this rule would rob the American people of $370 billion in cumulative climate and health benefits over the next two decades, simply to line the pockets of wealthy polluters.
“Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence and broad public support for pollution protections, Donald Trump and his cronies are plowing ahead with their Polluters First agenda. We at SEEC understand that our job as public servants is to protect the freedoms of Americans to breathe clean air and drink clean water, not the freedoms of large polluting corporations to lay waste to our children’s health and future.”
Background
SEEC sent two letters in March and July of 2023 urging the Biden Administration EPA to finalize strong limits on carbon pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants through EPA’s authority under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.