Sometimes the forces that lead to major social and political change take years to mature before they become public policy. The environmental movement, for example, began well before the first Earth Day in 1970; after decades of advocacy and resistance, the U.S. government finally passed laws regulating the practices and substances poisoning the planet.
Now all that progress has been reversed at the hands of the Trump administration. The New York Timesreported:
President Trump on Thursday announced he was erasing the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, ending the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.
The action is a key step in removing limits on carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases that scientists say are supercharging heat waves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather.
Led by a president who refers to climate change as a “hoax,” the administration is essentially saying that the vast majority of scientists around the world are wrong and that a hotter planet is not the menace that decades of research shows it to be.
The so-called endangerment finding, first promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2009, represented the culmination of scientific and regulatory initiatives dating back to the Nixon presidency. Until Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party, climate-change “denialism” was a fringe movement. While many Republicans questioned the pace and scope of climate-change regulation, they didn’t oppose it entirely. But now climate-change denialism is official U.S. policy, making this country a global pariah. We’re now the only country that has withdrawn from the 2015 Paris Agreement — in which most of the world agreed to greenhouse-gas-emission reductions — joining Iran, Libya, and Yemen as climate-change scofflaws.
While Trump has long been a climate-change denier, he really amped up his opposition to environmental protection in 2024 as part of a devil’s bargain with the fossil-fuel industry, as the Brennan Center explained:
Trump asked oil and gas executives in 2024 to raise $1 billion for his campaign and told them he’d grant their policy wish list if he won. The investment, he said, would be a “deal” given the taxes and regulation they would avoid under his presidency. He also offered to help fast-track fossil fuel industry mergers and acquisitions if he won.
This is one deal on which he has abundantly delivered:
His signature legislative package [the One Big Beautiful Bill Act]— which one executive deemed “positive for us across all of our top priorities” — gives oil and gas firms $18 billion in tax incentives while rolling back incentives for clean energy alternatives. He’s placed fossil fuelallies in charge of the agencies that oversee the industry and fast-tracked drilling projects on public lands. In just his first 100 days back in office, Trump took at least 145 actions to undo environmental rules — more than he reversed during his entire first term as president.
Yes, scientists and nature lovers generally have been stunned by the aggressively reactionary efforts of the 47th president to roll back the fundamental achievements of environmental policy for the past half-century. But you don’t need to be a professor or a tree hugger to comprehend that something dangerous is happening thanks to the toxins our industries and our cars are belching into the atmosphere. The recent explosion of extreme weather from coast to coast, and the steady diminution of the glories of the temperate seasons of spring and autumn, are evident to Americans over the age of 30. And Americans under the age of 30 need no convincing that climate change is a huge and very real challenge, as a 2024 Sacred Heart University survey shows:
Nearly 2 in 3 (63%) youth report experiencing “eco-anxiety”—a level of psychological distress about climate change that impacts their daily lives—up from 55% in the 2024 ISSJ Sacred Heart University poll.
Seven in 10 (70%) also report being worried about climate change.
This concern transcends demographics: more than 60% of Black, Hispanic and white youth report eco-anxiety, and among Republicans and conservatives, over 60% say they also experience “eco-anxiety.”
Partisan polarization means that differences of opinion on climate change can be countered or obliterated by tribal allegiances on other issues. But it’s important to understand that this particular policy priority of the Trump administration is really bad, rivaling mass deportation, the inversion of civil-rights laws, the ongoing destruction of NATO, the subversion of reproductive rights, and the use of government as an instrument of vengeance as precedent-breaking developments. We will live and breathe Trump’s repudiation of climate-change initiatives for a long time.
So has Earth Justice, one of the leading environmental law nonprofits in the country.
“We plan to sue them in court as soon as the rule is filed in the public register,” Senior Attorney Marvin Brown with Earth Justice told CBS News San Francisco.
Brown is concerned about how the repeal will increase the pollution from cars and trucks, which he says accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse emissions in the United States.
“It’s incredibly dangerous,” he said. “We’re talking about people’s lives here. Not just the lives of people here today but thinking about future generations that are going tobe affected by the actions we take today.”
President Trump has dismissed those health concerns, referring to climate change as a hoax.
“I tell them don’t worry about it because it has nothing to do with public health,” Mr. Trump said. “This was all a scam.”
Environmental law professor Holly Doremus from UC Berkeley says as legal challenges mount, she feels that in the courtroom, it’s not the science of climate change that will come into question, but the role of the EPA.
“They’re claiming that even if the science of global warming is correct, the EPA does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases,” Professor Holly Doremus with UC Berkeley Environmental Law said. “I think that’s where the core of the legal argument is going to be.”
The administration is also ending a credit for automakers to add start-stop features that shut off gas engines when cars idle, a move companies like Ford and Stellantis praised. The EPA says it will save drivers an average of $2,400 when they buy a new car, though one analysis by S-A-E International found the feature can improve fuel economy and save drivers money.
“They are only concerned about the apparently about the economic impacts of regulations, like limitations on greenhouse gas emissions,” Professor Doremus said.
“That is very dangerous because what it means is, the implication is anything that’s economically valuable can go ahead no matter how much it hurts people.”
California may be sheltered from some of the federal government’s actions since state law requires 100% of the electricity to come from renewable or carbon-free sources. Brown says while federal regulations may be up in the air, people can take steps to protect the environment.
“This is a big blow,” Brown said. “This is an agency abandoning its mission to protect public health. That doesn’t mean we still can’t fight back that there are things that we all can be doing to reduce this type of pollution.”
The map shows fine particle pollution (PM2.5) in an area of the Golden State—including Mammoth Lakes, Whitmore Hot Springs, and Mono Hot Springs—has reached an “unhealthy” level, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI).
The EPA warns that when “unhealthy” levels of PM2.5 are recorded, people in sensitive groups—which include older adults, children, and those with existing health conditions—are especially at risk of triggering or worsening health conditions, such as asthma or lung or heart problems. They should, therefore, take steps to avoid exposure to outdoor air by “avoiding all long or intense outdoor activities.”
Everyone else should “reduce long or intense activities” and take more breaks.
The AQI is a standardized scale of between 0 and 500 that measures and categorizes the quality of air across the U.S. into six groups:
Good: Scores between 0 and 50—air quality is considered satisfactory, and there are no concerns about pollution.
Moderate: Scores between 51 and 100—air quality is acceptable; however, individuals unusually sensitive to particle pollution may experience minor effects.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: Scores between 101 and 150—members of sensitive groups may be affected and should limit exposure.
Unhealthy: Scores between 151 and 200—everyone may begin to experience health effects, with sensitive groups at greater risk.
Very Unhealthy: Scores between 201 and 300—health warnings apply to everyone. Sensitive groups should avoid all outdoor activity, and others should limit prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities.
Hazardous: Scores between 301 and 500—serious health warnings for the entire population. Everyone should avoid all outdoor activities.
What Is PM2.5 and Where Does It Come From?
PM2.5 refers to tiny, inhalable particles of pollution measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter—smaller than a strand of hair. These particles can be unknowingly inhaled, penetrating deep into the lungs and even entering the bloodstream. Exposure can trigger symptoms ranging from mild eye, nose, and throat irritation to chest tightness or shortness of breath. In severe cases, it may lead to serious health conditions and hospitalization.
PM2.5 can come from a variety of sources, including dust from unpaved roads, smoke from wildfires or smokestacks, or emissions from vehicles and power or industrial plants.
The nationwide ban on a toxic cancer-causing chemical, once on hold, has moved forward to protect people around the country. Minnesota paved the way for the ban on TCE.
WCCO first told you about the dangers of TCE nearly six years ago. That’s when the White Bear Township community learned a manufacturing plant emitted unsafe levels of the chemical into the air.
The pollution went on for more than 15 years, exposing people who lived nearby.
Sheri Smith and Leigh Thiel are two of the founders of the Neighborhood Concerned Citizens Group in White Bear Township.
“It is a horrid, carcinogenic, toxic chemical that should have been outlawed a long time ago,” Smith said.
The group formed after learning about the now-defunct Water Gremlin — a manufacturing plant in their neighborhood — which emitted elevated and unsafe levels of TCE into the air for more than 15 years.
“For me, it started really at the hands of a really bad actor. When you look at what Water Gremlin did, and the amount of TCE that they emitted into the air, into our community, for the amount of time that they did, it was horrific,” Thiel said.
Their group led the charge to ban the cancer-causing chemical in the state. People living with cancer and chronic illness joined them, vocalizing the dangers of TCE, and they worked with lawmakers to get the job done
Earlier this year, former Rep. Ami Wazlawik shared how the work done here created momentum for a federal ban.
“We knew what the conversation was around the chemical. We had done that work in Minnesota, and it was nice to see a reflection, sort of like the work that we started here in Minnesota, on the federal level, where it can be a lot more of an onerous process to get something done with chemical regulation. It was nice to sort of see our effort as a starting point for the efforts on the federal level to get us to where the EPA said, you know, we want to do this on the federal level and make sure everyone’s protected,” Wazlawik said.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule to manage the risks of TCE and to protect public health in late 2024. It was paused at the beginning of the year to go through a review with the new administration. Now it’s on track — banned in most uses across the country — with dates set to phase out its use. The EPA says a limited number of uses will be phased out over a longer period.
“Across the United States, there’s so many different communities that have been impacted by the use of TCE. So many different stories, so many horrific stories, and to know that that chapter can start to come to a close is really good,” Thiel said.
“Bravo that we were the first, and the rest of the nation is following,” Smith said.
The EPA told WCCO everything in the rule is now in effect, with the exception of one area. Compliance dates have been extended for the use of TCE, aiding in the manufacturing of nuclear fuel. Companies are expected to have until 2028 to comply.
Thousands of people in Oregon have been urged to stay indoors amid concerns over high air pollution levels.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) AirNow map, which provides a real-time snapshot of air quality, showed that air pollution levels around Sweet Home, north-east of Eugene, are in the unhealthy range on Friday morning.
The warnings mean that the risk of negative health effects from air pollution are increased for the general public, as well as vulnerable populations.
Why It Matters
Air pollution poses significant health risks to the general public, in particular for the young, seniors and vulnerable populations such as those with underlying respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
The EPA warned on its website: “Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.”
“Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Everyone else, especially children, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.”
Jackie Medcalf grew up in Atascocita playing on the banks of the San Jacinto River. By the time she moved to East Harris County’s Highlands community in 2003, she and several of her neighbors were suffering from health conditions they attributed to toxic waste pits in the river.
So it was a long time coming when the Environmental Protection Agency approved last week a much-anticipated cleanup plan for the San Jacinto River Toxic Waste Pits Superfund Site, imposing 40 new conditions on “responsible parties” International Paper Company and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp., mandating that any changes to the plan must be approved by the EPA.
The site near Interstate 10 is so contaminated that it was designated a “superfund” hazardous waste disposal site, meaning it has severe soil and water contamination and contains hazardous chemicals like dioxins and sulfuric acid.
The EPA has not yet established a timeline for cleanup or penalties if the plan isn’t followed. The companies have been under a court mandate to produce a final cleanup plan, called a “Final (100 percent) Remedial Design,” since 2018. Spokespersons for International Paper and McGinnes did not respond to requests for comment.
Medcalf, who created the nonprofit Texas Health and Environmental Alliance in 2015, said she and other advocates will continue their watchdog roles to ensure the work gets done.
“It’s a huge milestone and a huge moment for our community, but in some ways I feel like our work is just getting started,” she said. “The EPA has all of the regulatory tools and all of the legal tools at its disposal to ensure that this site keeps moving forward. We will — with our regulatory expertise and legal expertise and with the power of all the people who stand with us — make sure that we continue pushing for this to move forward. Continuing in that watchdog role is critical.”
Medcalf and her family moved away from the river in 2013, but she’d already been diagnosed with endometriosis and symptoms related to the early stages of cervical cancer. It’s difficult to prove that a toxic waste site caused cancer, but she said she believes she was exposed to contaminants. Her father has multiple myeloma, which is one of the cancers closely associated with dioxin exposure.
“I have no idea what my health would be like if I’d stayed,” she said. “I don’t think I would have been able to have my children. I don’t think I would be OK if I still lived over there.”
Residents in the area have abnormally high rates of leukemia, lymphoma, bronchitis, and cancer, Medcalf added. Precinct 3 Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey said earlier this year that the superfund site near Interstate 10 is in the “worst place possible,” where young people occasionally ignore the signs and go swimming.
The area is booming with several master-planned communities and about 330,000 people.
“When the floods happen, the pit is going to end up in Galveston Bay,” Ramsey said at a Commissioners Court meeting in April. “We know who did it. Waste Management and International Paper, they are the responsible parties. I refer to them as the irresponsible parties. They have the money to [clean it up] I know they do because they sponsor golf tournaments and all kinds of things.”
Ramsey also plans to keep a close eye on the EPA and the responsible companies to ensure they clean up the site as mandated by law. The commissioner has a long history with contaminated water in Harris County and says he committed to cleaning up toxic sites when he was elected in 2021.
The commissioner recently recalled that, while studying environmental engineering at Texas A&M in 1972, he and other Aggie students were tasked with evaluating water conditions in the Houston Ship Channel. They were told not to light a cigarette within 100 yards of the ship channel because “they were afraid of spontaneous combustion,” Ramsey said during an April commissioners court meeting.
“Essentially, the Houston ship channel in 1972 was a dead body of water,” Ramsey said. “The City of Houston was dumping raw sewage from its plants. That’s all been cleaned up since then. Essentially, we can go to that same spot today, and we can go fishing. The oxygen levels are great, but I’d recommend you not eat the fish.” Unfortunately, the commissioner added, the same success story cannot be told for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site. The area has been in peril for more than a decade, with the two companies delaying a cleanup process while cancer clusters and toxic waste plague the neighborhood.
In the April Commissioners Court meeting — about five months before the EPA took action on the San Jacinto waste pits — Ramsey introduced a resolution “on the topic that bothers me the most in my precinct.”
“The resolution essentially says everyone deserves clean rivers, creeks, and air to breathe,” he said at the time. “It’s our duty to ensure the safety of our community for future generations. This starts with the state accurately reporting the heartbreaking reality of what people are facing in East Harris County, with cancer clusters emerging and areas affected by environmental factors relating to the San Jacinto River Waste Pits.”
Ramsey provided an emailed statement this week saying he will make sure the community’s health and safety come first, and that the cleanup is completed as quickly and responsibly as possible.
“While the EPA has not yet set a final timeline or penalties for delays, my office continues to press for a clear path on this cleanup,” Ramsey said. “We are working closely with the County Attorney’s Office, partnering with community advocates like the Texas Health and Environment Alliance, writing letters to and staying engaged with state and federal partners, and keeping constituents informed every step of the way. I’d also like to thank both Trump administrations for prioritizing this site after the previous administration ignored the issue.”
Medcalf said the San Jacinto River didn’t get on the EPA’s radar by coincidence.
“Hurricane Harvey impacted over 70 superfund sites on the Texas coast, but the one the nation heard about was the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, and it’s because our coalition has spent over 10 years being 100 percent committed to every ounce of this,” she said.
Medcalf and her team have studied the data, read the technical documents, and pored over lab reports, said the advocate, who has a background in environmental geology.
“We really screamed and advocated to the Texas Department of State Health Services for many years to study our health because we felt like we were disproportionately impacted by the San Jacinto River site,” Medcalf said. “The first study was produced in 2015, and we requested an update to that study because there were new cancers that people were concerned about.”
The San Jacinto River Toxic Waste Pits Superfund Site has been contaminated since the 1960s, according to environmental advocates.
Screenshot
The state health department studied a 250-square-mile area of Harris County and designated the entire region as a cancer cluster, Medcalf said.
“We know that when the area floods, when a storm surge comes in, contaminants from the waste pits are dispersed throughout our communities,” she said.
The river’s “southern pit” was successfully cleaned up in 2024, but the plan for a pit on the north side of the property was stalled for years by the responsible parties, according to a press release issued last week. The companies submitted multiple plans that did not meet the EPA’s requirements, the release states.
While the dump site doesn’t look like an ideal spot for a family picnic, there are no signs advising “no swimming,” Medcalf said.
“It truly is a matter of people being informed,” she said. “Living in that area, I learned that if something is wrong with your environment, the government is not necessarily going to send you a letter or knock on your door. I learned that the hard way, and that’s why we do what we do.”
“It is crazy that it’s sitting there,” she added. “There’s a temporary cap on top of most of that northern pit, but it’s had repeated failures over the years and a need for repairs time and time again. It’s absolutely absurd that highly toxic contaminant material is just sitting there in the river above one of the most productive estuaries in the United States.”
The Environmental Protection Agency ruled last week that International Paper Company and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp. have to clean up the San Jacinto River Toxic Waste Pits Superfund Site.
Screenshot
The site has been contaminated since the 1960s, and Medcalf said she’s been actively working with the EPA since 2011. The “legal wheels are turning,” she said, and EPA’s legal counsel is negotiating with the responsible parties. That process will end with a consent decree or a Unilateral Administrative Order, which would force the parties to comply or face penalties, Medcalf explained.
“Residents have lost loved ones. Many have developed cancer and other illnesses, but they never stopped. This is a blue-collar community. They show up for work and they don’t quit until the job is done,” Medcalf said. “They stayed united during the years of delays, and the community will hold the companies accountable to follow this cleanup plan. This community isn’t going anywhere and they aren’t going to stop pushing for a full, effective cleanup.”
According to a report by The Washington Post, scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water were ordered by “political appointees” to stop work on studies that were headed for publication, as they’ll now be “subject to a new review process.” Staffers were reportedly given the instructions in a town hall meeting this week. The only papers exempt are those for which “scientific journals had already returned proofs — the final step in the academic publication process,” reports The Washington Post, which spoke to two agency employees. Among other things, the role of the Office of Water is to ensure the safety of drinking water.
It’s the latest in a string of changes at the EPA under the Trump administration, and raises yet more concerns for public health. In May, the agency announced plans to roll back limitations for some perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” that had been set by the Biden administration, saying it would keep only the limits for the two most common, PFOA and PFOS. In July, the EPA laid off thousands of employees and announced it would shut down its scientific research office. The same month, the EPA proposed rescinding certain greenhouse gas emissions standards, and just last week announced a plan to do away with the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program that requires some of the nation’s biggest polluters to report their emissions.
Following the latest orders, staffers with the Office of Water who spoke to The Washington Post said they were not given a reason to provide scientific journals as to why the papers have been halted, and no details on the new review process have been shared. One employee told the publication, “This represents millions of dollars of research, potentially, that’s now being stopped.”
Vegetables’ health benefits may extend beyond their nutritious value, thanks to researchers studying their ability to detect and possibly remove harmful forever chemicals from soil.
The chemicals, or PFAS, are a class of thousands of substances that have been used in common products, including nonstick cookware, for decades. They linger in the environment indefinitely, which is why they are also called forever chemicals. The substances are in most Americans’ blood, even newborns, according to the Environmental Working Group and the government.
While experts are still studying the health implications, findings suggest an association with reproductive issues, immune system harm, and hormonal complications, the Environmental Protection Agency added.
It’s no surprise that PFAS are also in dirt, which can contribute to crop contamination. That’s where University of Virginia Professor Bryan Berger thinks the plants themselves can help to solve the problem, according to Grist.
“I think a lot of people now are aware of PFAS, or concerned about it, or want to know whether it’s present in their water, their food. The whole purpose of what we’re trying to do is develop something that’s simple and cost effective to answer that question for them,” Berger said in the story.
He and a group of researchers have been working with the tribal Mi’kmaq Nation on land they acquired from a former Air Force Base. Early findings showed that hemp can astoundingly “draw PFAS out of the soil,” according to Grist. But there is much more information to be gathered about how the troublesome chemicals move in the ground, and how plants can identify and potentially remediate them.
“I think everybody is struggling with that question, trying to figure out, what does ‘forever’ mean?” Berger said in the story.
The government has started regulating PFAS, but the chemicals are still turning up all over the place. Current testing using spectrometers costs hundreds of dollars per sample and can take weeks for results. Berger’s team developed a microbial biosensor that glows when exposed to PFAS, a much quicker, less expensive option that was successfully tested on the tribe’s land, all according to Grist.
But Berger thinks plants could be engineered in a similar way to be sentinels that glow when forever chemicals are present. It’s similar to a longtime practice of planting vegetation susceptible to certain diseases to see if the pathogen is present. In this case, a glowing row of crops identifies PFAS — giving farmers instant knowledge without more tests, Grist continued.
One study Berger mentioned in the story noted that potatoes in Maine contaminated with PFAS didn’t have the substances in the edible part, only the leaves. It’s remarkable progress. But Berger said there’s still no affordable way to eliminate them.
“It’s the million-dollar question,” he added in Grist.
The plants themselves might be able to do it. The team’s idea is to use a “specially engineered” microbe that mimics photosynthesis. Energy from the process would destroy PFAS that the microbe absorbed, as Grist described it.
It’s an early-stage idea still being tested.
“If it works, it’s the most environmentally benign way we could do things because it’s almost all biological,” Berger told Grist.
Colorado’s H2Plus is developing a water filter that can break down PFAS at the molecular level, as another example in the works. The innovations, along with more regulations and smarter product use, can help. Ditching plastic containers, bottles, and other throwaway items can limit plastic, microplastics, and other harmful waste. Switching to better products can also save you money.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The battle over $20 billion worth of climate-related funding authorized by Congress continues as an appellate court ruled on Tuesday in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency, which had terminated Biden-era grants made to nonprofits.
The legal tussle stems from EPA administrator Lee Zeldin’s decision to cancel grants dispersed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Zeldin said that the grants did not match the EPA’s current priorities and claimed, without evidence, that he had concerns about fraud.
A district court had previously ruled that Zeldin’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious.”
The two majority justices, both Trump appointees, wrote that Zeldin’s cancellation of the contracts was valid and that the government “must ensure proper oversight and management” of the grants. They cited in support of their decision an undercover video taken by Project Veritas, a conservative activist group that releases deceptively edited videos.
In March, court filings revealed that the EPA along with the FBI and the EPA inspector general had instructed Citibank to freeze money that had already been placed in accounts controlled by the nonprofits. The money was largely to be used for loans, which would be paid back and reused.
The grants in question were awarded to a range of nonprofits, including Climate United and Power Forward. At the time of the March hearing, Climate United had committed to $392 million in projects based on the money in its accounts, including $63 million for solar power developments in Oregon and Idaho and another $31.8 million in solar projects in rural Arkansas. Power Forward had committed $539 million and said the freeze left it unable to pay contractors’ outstanding invoices.
Zeldin had claimed that fraud was one of his main concerns, though a lengthy investigation by the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., failed to turn up any meaningful evidence, according to a report in The New York Times.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025
Perhaps as a result of a lack of evidence of fraud, EPA arguments before the appeals court focused on the contractual nature of the grants. The majority of justices agreed that the matter should be heard by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, not the broader federal judiciary.
The dissenting justice, an Obama appointee, said that the EPA “has no lawful basis — nor even a nonfrivolous assertion of any basis — to interfere with funding that, pursuant to Congress’s instructions, already belongs to Plaintiffs.”
The plaintiffs are likely to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. If they fail there, the EPA could still be liable for billions of dollars, according to legal analysis by its own attorneys.
New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has scientists ringing alarm bells about the health of the world’s oceans. Seventy-seven percent of the world’s coral reefs have experienced “bleaching-level heat stress” over the last 22 months. Derek Manzello, coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, joins CBS News to dive deeper into the research.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – President Biden is set to announce $2.6 billion in funding to replace all lead pipes in the United States as part of a new EPA rule that will require lead pipes to be identified and replaced within 10 years using the new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
The EPA estimates that nine million homes in the U.S. have lead pipes.
The city of Milwaukee, where Mr. Biden will make the announcement, has 65,000 lead pipes, which the city says will cost an estimated $700 million to remove.
“The science has been clear for decades. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters on Monday.
President Joe Biden speaks to the media before he departs the White House on Oct. 5, 2024, in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
The final rule will require better lead testing requirements and mandating a complete inventory of lead water pipes. The $2.6 billion is the latest disbursement by the Biden administration for lead pipes in the $50 billion from the 2021 infrastructure law for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
Legal challenges could arise but a senior administration official believes the ruling is within the EPA’s “statutory authority” and on solid legal footing.
Mr. Biden’s visit comes amid a flurry of stops to the swing state of Wisconsin by both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Mr. Biden’s last visit was nearly a month ago to Westly, Wisconsin for an announcement on providing electricity to rural America.
The political focus on Wisconsin by Mr. Biden reflects the hopes that Democrats can hold on to the state that they flipped in 2020 by a slim margin after losing it in 2016.
Wisconsin is one of six states where lead levels in the blood of children are more than double the national rate, according to a 2021 study published in JAMA pediatrics.
Even low lead levels can cause small amounts of intellectual impairment depending on the child, according to Dr. Adam Blumenberg, emergency medicine physician and toxicology expert at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
“If there’s any amount of concerning lead in the child, you really want to figure out where it’s coming from and remove the source of exposure. That’s always going to be one of the most important things to do,” says Blumenberg.
Deanna Branch, a mother and lead-poisoning awareness activist from Milwaukee, told CBS News that she is finally seeing the money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act being used to remove lead pipes in her community.
Branch’s son Aidan suffered from lead poisoning while they were living in a home with lead in the paint, windows, pipes and soil. Her son’s lead levels were so high they had to move out of the home and into a homeless shelter for almost three months while they searched for safe housing. Branch said the experience was terrifying for her son and left him with health issues he will have to face for the rest of his life.
The Branch’s live in a lead paint free home now, but they still have lead pipes.
“When I first started advocating there was a 50 year plan that went down to a 40 year plan, now there is a nine year plan to remove all the lead pipes in Milwaukee, Branch tells CBS News. “I should be alive to see the lead pipes being removed out of Milwaukee and that gives me hope for other places as well.”
There is still more the Milwaukee community needs to live in a lead-free safe environment: more housing and more clinics.
Branch says there is not enough safe housing available in the community. Her old home where her son was lead poisoned was still being rented out as recently as a few years ago according to Branch. As for the Next Door Pediatrics Clinic where her son was first tested for lead positioning, it has since shut down, creating a healthcare gap in the community. Branch credits the work of the clinic for her youngest daughter being lead free.
There is a sense of shame for parents whose children suffered from lead poisoning, but Branch wants to remove the shame from the equation of asking for help.
“I want them to know it’s not on you,” says Branch. “We’re not receiving justice, And it’s a human right to have clean drinking water.”
Leila invites a reporter into her two-bedroom apartment at Cider Mill, an 864-unit complex in Montgomery Village, where she lives with her three school-age children in a largely African immigrant and Latino neighborhood.
She walks into her tiny kitchen and fires up all four gas burners on the stove, as if to prepare a big meal. But Leila – who has asked us not to use her real name – is not cooking on this day.
This is a test.
In her hand, she holds a monitor to measure nitrogen dioxide or NO2, a toxic gas that contributes to respiratory infections, increased cases of asthma and is known to harm brain development in children.
The Environmental Protection Agency warns that outdoor exposure to NO2 at concentrations of 150-200 parts per billion [ppb] is unhealthy, especially for people with lung disease, older adults and children with asthma, like Leila’s 13-year-old-son.
Within 10 minutes a beeping alarm registers 200ppb. The readings continue to rise, and 15 minutes after Leila turns off the burners, she takes a final reading of 220ppb, a range that EPA calls very unhealthy outdoors.
The EPA has no NO2 indoor standards.
Leila’s test is just one of more than 300 that volunteers and staff with the group Action in Montgomery, or AIM, have conducted at five apartment complexes in Montgomery County. More than half of the units registered unhealthy levels of NO2, said AIM Director Cynthia Marshall. She said a final report will be issued later this year.
“I was motivated to do these tests to understand why our families are suffering,” Leila said, troubled by high readings. “[We] see a high rate of absenteeism and wonder why they miss so much school and can’t concentrate on learning with chemicals in their heads.”
Her advocacy began at the local elementary school, where she now heads the PTA. “We organized for a new school building, and for high quality after-school programs,” she said.
Leila then engaged other parents through AIM, which Marshall said follows the iron rule: “Never do for anyone what they can do for themselves.”
Increased activism led to a leadership role with AIM, where she recruited Ana Argueta, PTA President at JoAnn Leleck Elementary in Silver Spring, to knock on doors and lobby in Annapolis for the 2024 Maryland EmPOWER Act.
“People affected by the issue are involved in the organizing, the turnout of people power, the negotiation with elected officials, and the meetings,” Marshall said. “In 2024 we worked with a coalition, including People Acting Together in Howard, Anne Arundel Connecting Together, Interfaith Power and Light and the Sierra Club to pass EmPOWER reform in Maryland to prioritize funding for energy upgrades in low-income housing.”
AIM also worked with the governor’s staff to make electrification a priority for low-income and multifamily housing.
A team of AIM leaders, joined by Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery), brought their case to Kay Management, which owns two of the five buildings tested by AIM, meeting with Kay President Clark Melillo.
“We [asked for] help to clean the air in our apartments, the air that our children breathe,” Argueta said.
They pointed to funds they said could pay for the shift from gas to electric appliances that AIM advocates are calling for. Those include $50 million in state funds set aside in February to electrify hospitals, schools and multifamily housing, $69 million for energy-efficient home improvements from the Inflation Reduction Act as well as state funds to help low-income residents with energy efficiency and conservation, money set aside from a rate assessment on all home utility bills.
“We have worked to get the efficiency and electrification statute right for a number of years,” Charkoudian said. “House Bill 169 from last year finally established more equity in our EmPOWER Program and has led to a huge increase in the funds available for efficiency for affordable housing.
“This [2024] session, we passed the EmPOWER reform to allow for beneficial electrification,” or replacing fossil fuel appliances with electric alternatives that reduce toxic emissions, she said. Before that change, Charkoudian said, residents could install a more-efficient stove, but could not go from gas to electric.
“This [law] puts us into a really strong position to go to these multifamily building owners and say, ‘OK, let’s get this done now.’ We need to get these funds invested in our communities,” she said.
Kay Management did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but Marshall said she is cautiously optimistic following the meeting.
“My understanding is that Kay is in the process of applying for funds for energy upgrades and electrification, and hope that HOC[Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission] and other apartment owners will follow Kay Management’s lead, pursuing electrification and energy upgrades,” she said.
HOC owns Cider Mill, where Leila lives. In a statement, HOC Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications Tia Blount said: “Grady Management, our third-party manager at Cider Mill has not reported any unsafe levels of NO2 at the property. If there is evidence or date to the contrary, we would welcome an opportunity to investigate further and make any remediation found to be necessary.”
Looking ahead, Charkoudian said she will push for a streamlined process, a one-stop shop for funding and the involvement of various agencies like the Maryland Energy Administration and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Nicola Tran, DHCD’s director of housing and building energy programs, said a Green and Healthy Task Force, mandated in a 2023 bill and coordinated by the department, is working to identify all existing and potential future funding available for comprehensive housing upgrades that address both greenhouse gas savings, rehabilitation, and safety.
“The report will be issued in December with a plan to drive those goals forward,” she said.
Leila said this is not the life she expected when she came to the United States in 2003. Without a working exhaust fan in her apartment, the immigrant from Niger said she has stopped using the burners on her stove and cooks instead on an induction hot plate with a single pot or pan.
Leila says the air quality is not acceptable, not for her, not for her children, not for anyone. “We were living like we were being ignored,” she said.
But she and her team, all women and all immigrants from Africa, Mexico, Central and South America, see themselves as part of the solution.
“When we come together, we have a say about our health, the air we breathe, how we are living,” she said. “We don’t want to be left behind.”
Dan Evans, a popular three-term Republican governor of Washington state who went on to serve in the U.S. Senate before leaving in frustration because he felt the chamber was too rancorous and tedious, has died. He was 98.
Evans died Friday, according to the University of Washington, where he had served as a regent and where the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance bears his name.
“Dan Evans was an honorable, independent-minded public servant who put Washington state first and dedicated his life to protecting and investing in the places and people in our state,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said Saturday in a statement. “We were lucky to have him — and I have no doubt his legacy will live on for generations to come.”
FILE — Former Washington Gov. Dan Evans speaks at a Celebration of Life event for former Gov. Mike Lowry on May 31, 2017, at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington.
GENNA MARTIN/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Evans was a dominant force in Washington politics for decades and, until current Gov. Jay Inslee, he was the only person to be elected governor three times. In a statement posted to social media, the Democrat said it was difficult to think of another resident who had such a positive impact on so many aspects of the state.
“We all, no matter our party, can feel fortunate for the progress he led during each of his three terms as governor,” Inslee said.
Born in 1925 in Seattle, Evans was a civil engineer before entering politics. He was elected to the state Legislature in 1956 and won the governorship in 1964, beating incumbent two-term Democrat Albert D. Rosellini and prevailing in a bad year for his fellow Republicans, one which saw President Lyndon Johnson soundly defeat the GOP’s Barry Goldwater.
Known as a moderate to liberal Republican, the avid outdoorsman helped add new recreation and park areas in the state and supported clean air and water legislation. He created the nation’s first state Department of Ecology, which President Richard Nixon used as a model for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Evans also unsuccessfully pushed to create a state income tax. He opted not to run for a fourth term.
“His legacy of coming together for the greater good, despite party lines, has inspired and will continue to inspire public servants and the Evans School community,” Jodi Sandfort, the school’s dean, said in a statement.
Sandfort recalled a quote from Evans: “Accomplishing good things takes bipartisan effort, because often what we’re trying to accomplish isn’t partisan.”
After leaving the governor’s mansion in 1977, Evans stayed in Olympia, serving as president of Evergreen State College. Evans had helped create the state school when he signed an act authorizing the liberal arts college, and as governor he also backed founding the state’s community college system.
He built a national profile during his time leading the state and was the keynote speaker at the 1968 National Republican Convention. He was mentioned as a possible running mate for President Gerald Ford in 1976. Never a fan of Ronald Reagan, Evans supported Ford in 1976 and initially backed George H.W. Bush in 1980.
As a popular Republican in a predominantly Democratic state, it seemed that Evans would be a shoe-in had he decided to run for Senate. He frequently spurned such talk, saying in 1972 that “I don’t like Washington, D.C., very well … and I could not stand to be in the Senate.”
However, in 1983 Democratic Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson died in office, and Evans accepted an appointment to serve out his term. Evans opted not to stand for election in 1988, citing the “tediousness of getting decisions made.” At the time he said he was looking forward to returning home to enjoy the outdoors.
In later years, Evans served as a regent at the University of Washington, his alma mater. He also served on many nonprofit and corporate boards.
“Dad lived an exceptionally full life,” his sons — Dan Jr., Mark and Bruce Evans — said in a statement quoted by The Seattle Times. “Whether serving in public office, working to improve higher education, mentoring aspiring public servants … he just kept signing up for stuff right until the end. He touched a lot of lives. And he did this without sacrificing family.”
Evans’ wife, Nancy Bell Evans, died in January at age 90.
Adams County School District 14 will roll out 14 new electric school buses by 2025, adding to the 144 electric buses that already are ferrying school children in Colorado or are on-order for districts across the state.
The Adams 14 buses will phase out more than half of the 25 diesel buses used by the district. The school district also will build solar-powered canopies to house the new buses, and that solar power will be used to charge them, said Josh Cochran, the district’s operations director.
The solar power also will help electrify Alsup Elementary School, which is next to the district’s bus depot in Commerce City.
Colorado air pollution regulators made the rare move this month to extend the public comment period on a permit that would allow a pipeline company to expand its gasoline storage facility across the street from an elementary school in a neighborhood north of Denver.
The extension comes amid criticism that regulators at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and executives at Magellan Pipeline Company did not communicate with people about plans to expand gasoline storage at the Dupont Terminal at 8160 Krameria St. in unincorporated Adams County.
The expansion would increase the amount of toxins released into the air in a community that already suffers a disproportional amount of pollution compared to the rest of the state.
Colorado has three years to lower ground-level ozone pollution to meet federal standards, and this summer’s hazy skies — caused by oil and gas drilling, heavy vehicle traffic and wildfire smoke — are putting the state in a hole as it’s already logged more dirty air days than in all of 2023.
“Our state has taken a lot of steps to improve air quality, but you can see it in the skies, you can see it in the air, that we still have work to do,” said Kirsten Schatz, clean air advocate for the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.
Two months into the 2024 summer ozone season, the Front Range already has recorded more high ozone days than the entire summer of 2023. As of Monday, which is the most recent data available, ozone levels had exceeded federal air quality standards on 28 days. At the same point in 2023, there had been 27 high-ozone days.
The summer ozone season runs from June 1 to Aug. 31. However, the region encompassing metro Denver and the northern Front Range this year recorded its first high ozone day in May, and in some years ozone pollution exceeds federal standards into mid-September.
The first benchmark is to lower average ozone pollution to a 2008 standard of 75 parts per billion. The northern Front Range is in what’s called “severe non-attainment” for that number, meaning motorists must use a more expensive blend of gasoline during the summer and more businesses must apply for federal permits that regulate how much pollution they spill into the air.
The second benchmark requires the region to lower its average ozone pollution to a 2015 standard of 70 parts per billion, considered the most acceptable level of air pollution for human health. In July, the EPA downgraded the northern Front Range to be in serious violation of that standard as the region’s ozone level now sits at 81 parts per billion. The state must now submit to the EPA a new plan for lowering emissions.
Colorado needs to meet both EPA benchmarks by 2027, or it will be downgraded again and face more federal regulation.
Of the 28 days the state has recorded high ozone pollution levels, 17 exceeded the 2008 standard of 70 parts per billion, according to data compiled by the Regional Air Quality Council, an organization that advises the state on how to reduce air pollution.
That’s bad news for the region after state air regulators predicted Colorado would be able to meet that standard by the 2027 deadline. The EPA calculates average ozone pollution levels on a three-year average, so this summer’s bad numbers will drag down the final grade.
“It’s not a good first year to have,” said Mike Silverstein, the air quality council’s executive director.
Smoke from wildfires near and far
Ground-level ozone pollution forms on hot summer days when volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides react in the sunlight. Those compounds and gases are released by oil and gas wells and refineries, automobiles on the road, fumes from paint and other industrial chemicals, and gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.
It forms a smog that can cause the skies to become brown or hazy, and it is harmful to people, especially those with lung and heart disease, the elderly and children. Ground-level ozone is different than the ozone in the atmosphere that protects Earth from the sun’s powerful rays.
Wildfire smoke blowing from Canada and the Pacific Northwest did not help Colorado’s pollution levels in July, and then multiple fires erupted along the Front Range over the past week, creating homegrown pollution from fine particulate matter such as smoke, soot and ash. Ultimately, though, the heavy smoke days could be wiped from the calculations from 2024, but that decision will be made at a later date.
Still, June also saw multiple high ozone days, and air quality experts say much of the pollution originates at home in Colorado and cannot be blamed on outside influences.
The out-of-state wildfire smoke sent ozone levels skyrocketing the week of July 21 to 27, Silverstein said, but it’s not the reason the numbers are high. The week prior saw ozone levels above federal standards, too, and wildfire smoke had not drifted into the region.
“Pull the wildfires out and we would probably still have had high ozone,” he said.
Jeremy Nichols, senior advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, also warned that wildfires should not be used as an excuse for the region’s air pollution.
“While the wildfires are out of our control, there is a whole bunch of air pollution we can control,” he said. “I don’t want to let that cover up the ugliness that existed here in the first place.”
Nichols blames oil and gas drilling for the region’s smog. The state is not doing enough to regulate the industry, he said.
“We actually need to recognize we are at a point where oil and gas needs to stop drilling on high ozone days,” Nichols said. “Just like we’re told to stay home on high ozone days, business as usual needs to stop. I don’t think we’ve clamped down on them and in many respects they are getting a free pass to pollute.”
One proposal would require drilling companies to eliminate emissions from pneumatic actuating devices, equipment driven by pressurized gas to open and close valves in pipelines, Silverstein said. Oil companies already are required to make 50% of those devices emission-free, and the federal government also is requiring them to be 100% emission-free by 2035. But Colorado’s proposal would accelerate the timeline, he said.
The second proposal would tell companies to stop performing blowdowns, which is when workers vent fumes from pipelines before beginning maintenance to clear explosive gases, when an ozone alert is issued, Silverstein said.
“There are thousands of these very small events, but these small events add up to significant activity,” he said.
Gabby Richmond, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the industry supports the new regulations. She said operators also were electrifying operations where possible and voluntarily delaying operational activities on high ozone days.
“Our industry values clean air, and we are committed to pioneering innovative solutions that protect our environment and make Colorado a great place to live,” Richmond said in a statement. “As a part of this commitment, we have significantly reduced ozone-causing emissions by over 50% through technology, regulatory initiatives and voluntary measures — all in the spirit of being good neighbors in the communities where we live and work.”
“Knock down emissions where we can”
Meanwhile, people who live in metro Denver and the northern Front Range are asked to do their part, too.
When the state health department issues an ozone action alert — which is a forecast for high pollution levels — people are asked to limit driving as much as possible. They also are asked to avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment until later in the day when the sun starts dropping behind the mountains and temperatures fall.
It would be easy to blame Colorado’s ozone pollution on its geography, global climate change that is raising temperatures, and pollution blowing from other countries and states, Silverstein said. But Colorado has a responsibility to do its part.
“We have 4 million people and a big oil and gas field and lots of industrial activity and all of the things related to human activity all in one concentrated location with a great mountain backdrop, but it comes with a bit of a price,” he said. “So it’s up to us to find the strategies to knock down emissions where we can.”
Haze blanketed Colorado on Monday as wildfire smoke drifted from Canada, and the gray skies are expected to hover overhead for at least another 24 hours.
The wildfire smoke led the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Regional Air Quality Council on Monday to issue public health advisories, recommending people limit outdoor activity. The smoke is increasing the amount of ozone and fine particulate matter in the air.
Air monitors across northern Colorado and the Front Range were showing high concentrations of particulate matter, which can be smoke, soot, ash or liquid particles that people can inhale.
The 6-3 ruling, overturning a precedent from 1984, will shift the balance of power between the executive and judicial branches and hands an important victory to conservatives who have sought for years to rein in the regulatory authority of the “administrative state.”
The lawsuits were filed by two groups of herring fishermen challenging a Commerce Department regulation requiring them to pay the salaries of government observers who board their vessels to monitor the catch. But the decision will net a far wider swath of federal regulations affecting many facets of American life.
The decision overturns the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council precedent that required courts to give deference to federal agencies when creating regulations based on an ambiguous law. Congress routinely enacts open-ended laws that give latitude to agencies to work out — and adjust — the details to new circumstances.
“Chevron is overruled,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion. “Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority.”
The 1984 decision, he said, “undermines core rule-of-law values ranging from the promise of fair notice to the promise of a fair hearing,” adding that it “operated to undermine rather than advance reliance interests, often to the detriment of ordinary Americans.”
Liberals say ruling is ‘judicial hubris’
Justice Elena Kagan, writing a dissent joined by the court’s two other liberals said that, with the overturning of Chevron, “a rule of judicial humility gives way to a rule of judicial hubris.”
“In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue — no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden — involving the meaning of regulatory law. As if it did not have enough on its plate, the majority turns itself into the country’s administrative czar,” Kagan wrote.
The majority, she added, “disdains restraint, and grasps for power.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the outcome as “yet another deeply troubling decision that takes our country backwards.”
Jean-Pierre said that “Republican-backed special interests have repeatedly turned to the Supreme Court” and that “once again, the Supreme Court has decided in the favor of special interests.”
Conservatives have long sought to rein in regulatory authority, arguing that Washington has too much control over American industry and individual lives. The justices have been incrementally diminishing federal power for years, but the new case gave the court an opportunity to take a much broader stride.
In the case of the fishermen who brought the case, the law allowed the government to mandate the observers but was silent on the question of who had to pay their salaries, which the fisherman argue added roughly $700 a day to their costs. They encouraged the court to rule that agencies couldn’t enact such a requirement without explicit approval from Congress.
The Supreme Court had been trending in that direction for years, knocking back attempts by federal agencies in other contexts to approve regulations on their own. In 2021, for instance, the court’s conservatives struck down a Biden administration effort to extend an eviction moratorium first approved during the Trump administration. Last year, the court’s conservatives similarly invalidated a Biden plan to wipe out student loans of millions of Americans.
Miyares has challenged several rules, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations for tractor trailer and passenger vehicle tailpipes, power plants and meat and poultry processors.
This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares speaks during an interview at the Office of the Attorney General in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ryan M. Kelly)(AP/Ryan M. Kelly)
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares speaks during an interview at the Office of the Attorney General in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ryan M. Kelly)(AP/Ryan M. Kelly)
Joining 23 conservative-led states’ efforts, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has signed on to legal challenges to new federal rules designed to advance emission reductions and address what scientists say is causing extreme weather events.
The crux of Miyares’ arguments in all of the legal challenges to the new emissions rules has been to combat what his office characterized as federal government overreach, which spokesperson Chloe Smith said is “a core function of state attorney general offices.”
Though Virginia follows the tailpipe emissions for passenger vehicles set by California, the different federal rules would have a “nationwide effect, including in Virginia,” on American power grids, the supply chain and consumer demand, Smith said.
President Joe Biden’s administration has rolled out the various rules as part of his agenda that has included record amounts of funding for renewable energy deployment through the Inflation Reduction Act and environmental improvement projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The new emissions standards — and Miyares’ actions concerning them — have met with mixed reactions in Virginia from environmental groups, the trucking industry and electric utilities.
Heavy truck rule
The latest suit over the heavy truck rule is one that could apply to Virginia, since the state defaults to following the federal government for those tailpipe emissions standards while following California’s passenger car emissions rules.
Because of smog issues California faced, that state was granted an exception to the Clean Air Act to enforce stricter tailpipe emission regulations. No other state uses that exception, which prevents car manufacturers from having to make more than two different types of vehicles to meet additional standards.
Though not as stringent as California, the federal passenger car emissions rules are said to lead to greater public adoption of electric vehicles, which the federal heavy truck mirrors.
Evening traffic on Interstate 95 through Richmond. (Wyatt Gordon)
The Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups have been lauding the work from Biden — though they’d like to see previously drafted and more stringent rules around tractor trailers, or heavy trucks, get adopted — while expressing disappointment in Miyares’ actions.
“It’s very disappointing that the attorney general has joined [challenges to the rules], which will have an outsized impact on climate pollution that are not only harming the earth but also our health,” said Trip Pollard, a senior attorney with the SELC. “I can’t say I’m too surprised.”
Pollard, a leading backer of reducing car emissions, stands by the heavy truck rule because those pollutants from the transportation sector are the state and country’s largest source of greenhouse emissions that are warming the planet, leading to more frequent and severe flooding and fire events.
“There absolutely are legitimate concerns and we just need to be sure to address those concerns,” Pollard said, referencing failed attempts this past session to build out EV charging infrastructure in rural areas.
Conversely, the Virginia Trucking Association has said the new federal heavy truck rules are “unrealistic,” because of the cost to implement the changes and charging demands they say are put on truckers, and support Miyares’ pushback against them.
“We certainly appreciate their effort to stop this rule,” said Dale Bennett, president & CEO of the Virginia Trucking Association. “Let’s take a look at trying to get something that’s realistic and technology neutral.”
Bennett and the trucking industry’s opposition stems from the increased cost the rules will put on the industry that will trickle down to consumers, Bennett said, and could even lead to trucking companies buying vehicles now before needing to buy 2027 to 2032 model year trucks that will need to comply with the federal rules.
“Operationally how do you operate them if there’s no charging infrastructure?” Bennett said.
Virginia is home to a Volvo plant in Dublin that has committed to fossil fuel-free vehicles. There’s also Mack Trucks, which recently expanded in Roanoke County.
“The Volvo Group is completely aligned with EPA’s objective of speeding the transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs),” said Jonathan Miller, senior vice president of public affairs for Volvo Group North America, in a statement. “Customers won’t buy ZEVs unless they’re confident they have access to charging, which neither [manufacturers] nor EPA can guarantee.”
Miller said the EPA’s new rules are “more realistic than what was originally proposed and support the agency’s pledge to consider further adjustments if necessary.”
As less than half of American respondents said in a recent Gallup poll they would purchase an electric vehicle, passenger vehicle manufacturer Ford said it is scaling back its commitments to transition fleets to electric vehicles amid sale concerns. The car maker, which recently began an ad campaign promoting options to buy gas, electric and hybrid vehicles, still filed a brief in support of the new passenger car tailpipe emissions because of the “regulatory stability” it provides.
“Even more important than the power our customers choose, is what they choose to do with that power,” said Lisa Materazzo, Ford global chief marketing officer, in a statement on its ad campaign promoting choice.
Power plant rule
The EPA’s power plant rule has a similar intent of weaning the country’s electric grid off of fossil fuel-emitting generation sources, but the VCEA directly governing the state’s grid has already set up Virginia to get there.
The new federal rule, according to the Associated Press, would create standards that require existing coal plants operating beyond 2032 to capture 90% of their emissions, or close before then. Future coal or natural gas plants would need to meet that carbon capture rate, too.
“By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement.
The rules for the coal plants could come into play for the Clover Power Station that is co-owned by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, the electricity supplier for the state’s more rural electric cooperatives, and Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest utility. Under the VCEA, the Clover plant is mandated to close by 2045, unless there’s a reliability concern.
Dominion’s Chesterfield Power Station, once the largest fossil-fuel powered plant in Virginia. (NBC 12)
If it were to stay open up until then, it would need to adopt the carbon capture technology the federal rules are requiring that industry associations are challenging because of sequestration measures being in its nascent stage. Otherwise, the 880 megawatts of electricity Clover produces, as well as several other coal plants that are already cited to come offline, would need to close, creating a reliability concern amid unprecedented energy demand.
Despite generating less and less of its potential electricity, the full output of the plant may be needed as part of a “capacity obligation” with the regional grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to supply electricity at the highest peak the grid could face at anypoint.
But whereas the tailpipe emission rules may have a more stark division between support and opposition, the power plant rules don’t have a clear for and against delineation.
“We support EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, as well as the agency’s efforts to provide paths to additional carbon reductions and cleaner resources,” said the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association for investor-owned public utilities like Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company, in a statement. “At the same time, we are seeking judicial review of the agency’s determination that carbon capture and storage (CCS) should be the basis for compliance with other portions of the [federal] rules.”
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s Kirk Johnson said in a statement: “EPA’s regulation relies on the use of carbon capture technology that is not currently commercially available, despite the Clean Air Act’s requirement that regulatory standards be achievable and based on available technologies,” Without carbon capture technology, Johnson said, “the rule will require power plants to close prematurely during a time when we expect to see unprecedented growth in the need for electricity.”
Because of the recent unveiling of the rules and ongoing litigation, Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby said the utility “will need time to evaluate how they might impact our existing fleet or new power stations,” which includes a natural gas plant being proposed in Chesterfield.
Teresa Hall, a spokeswoman for Appalachian Power Company, Virginia’s second largest utility that also serves West Virginia, also said carbon capture and storage is “not a viable or proven technology that can be deployed on a large scale within the timeframes required by the rule.”
Appalachian Power falls under the parent company American Electric Power, which also includes Wheeling and Kingsport power companies and had 63% and 19% of its electricity generation come from coal and natural gas, respectively, in 2023.
But Virginia has already charted itself toward an electric grid less dependent on fossil fuel through VCEA, and through the state’s previous participation in the Regional Greenhouse Initiative that required electricity producers, including utilities, to purchase allowances to emit carbon, said Walton Shepherd, Virginia Policy Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council,
“We’re already on a path to compliance,” said Shepherd, adding that technologies like battery storage are increasingly emerging as viable ways to provide electricity amid any concerns over the deployment of renewable sources, especially compared to several years ago. “The solutions are there. We have the tools.”
The lawsuit from Miyares, without an alternative solution to address the “health and welfare,” issues from emissions causing climate change for Virginia, Shepherd added, is “an insult to Virginia.”
But referencing another SCOTUS case from 2022 that arose out of West Virginia, Miyares said the EPA’s power plant rule was “overstepping its bounds,” ignoring Supreme Court guidance and “infringing upon the sovereign rights of states to manage their energy resources.”
“We are urging the Court to recognize the EPA’s illegal power-grab and ensure that any changes to our nation’s energy policies are made through the proper legislative process, not through unilateral regulatory mandates,” Miyares added.
Other action
Virginia’s attorney general has also challenged federal rules over meat and poultry waste and air quality standards, as well as some protections for solar customers. Miyares claimed wins for the withdrawal of a rule that would have allowed the public trading of corporations holding park, federal or private land with an intent to conserve it, and a settlement with Monsanto.
The additional challenges oppose regulations that would expand requirements for liquid waste produced by meat processing plants from being enacted at 171 facilities to 3,879 in the country. Details on the number of Virginia facilities the rules would apply to were not immediately available.
The EPA said the proposed rule “would reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from [meat and poultry processing] facilities by approximately 100 million pounds per year.”
Poultry barns on the Eastern Shore. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)
But currently, meat and poultry processing plants that aren’t discharging directly into a stream have to pre-treat their waste under a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit before sending it to a municipal waste facility, in order to prevent the system becoming overwhelmed. That works “well the way it is,” said Hobey Bauhan, Virginia Poultry Federation president.
“We’re favorable to those who are trying to say, ‘yeah let’s take a second look,’” at the federal proposals, Bauhan said.
DTE Energy is now entangled in a federal lawsuit that alleges its subsidiary, EES Coke Battery on Zug Island, violated the Clean Air Act by substantially increasing its sulfur dioxide emissions and jeopardizing the health of people who live in River Rouge and southwest Detroit.
U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) request to add DTE Energy as a defendant in the lawsuit filed against EES Coke in June 2022.
Environmentalists applauded the decision, saying the multibillion-dollar energy company must be held accountable for the actions of its subsidiaries. During the discovery phase of the case, depositions with EES Coke and DTE employees have revealed that DTE and two of its subsidiaries were behind the decision that led to increased pollution at the plant, activists say.
“I am relieved that DTE will not be able to hide their illegal behavior from the court,” Ebony Elmore, a Sierra Club Executive Committee member who lives in River Rouge, said Wednesday. “It’s important for everyone to understand what the court found: The emissions may come from EES Coke, but the orders come from DTE Energy.”
Over the past decade, the plant has emitted thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide, a dangerous air pollutant that can cause asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema, according to the EPA. Short-term exposure can cause difficulty breathing, stomach pain, headaches, nausea, vomiting, fever, and irritation of the nose, throat, and lungs. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that disproportionately affects Black Detroiters.
The coal-powered plant manufactures coke, a key ingredient in steel production. During the process, it generates what the EPA refers to as “coke oven gas,” which can be used as fuel. When burned, this gas releases sulfur dioxide. The battery plant can utilize this fuel in other facilities, power its own operations, or burn it off in a flare.
Zug Island is the site of pollution-spewing industrial plants in River Rouge, just south of Detroit.
In 2014, state environmental regulators issued a new permit to the facility, lifting the limit on coke fire gas combustion, a process that emits sulfur dioxide. This decision was based on the company’s assurance that the change “would not result in a significant increase in emissions,” according to the EPA.
However, the plant did significantly increase its emissions, and the company failed to obtain the necessary permits or implement required pollution controls, the EPA alleges.
Activists say DTE has been especially problematic for lower-income, predominantly Black communities, where an abundance of pollution-spewing plants tends to be located.
“In truth this is only one example in DTE’s long and ugly history of profiting at the expense of low-income people of color,” Sierra Club organizer Bryan Smigielski said. “This ruling is an important step in a long road towards environmental justice for southwest Detroit.”
Zug Island is adjacent to Michigan’s most polluted ZIP code, 48217, located in Detroit. The community is inundated with a toxic stew of chemicals wafting from steel mills, coal-fired power plants, gas flares, billowing smokestacks, towering piles of coal and petroleum coke, a salt mine, wastewater treatment plant, and one of the nation’s largest oil refineries — all looming over schools, neighborhoods, parks, senior centers, and a recreation center.
A nauseating stench of rotten eggs, burnt plastic, and gasoline permeates the air, and heavy-duty trucks spewing harmful emissions rumble to and from factories all day and night, often carrying toxic chemicals and debris.
“We hope to move quickly and ensure that EES Coke and DTE end their illegal pollution and fix the damage they have caused,” Nick Leonard, director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, said.
Earthjustice attorney Mary Rock says DTE can’t hide from what it has done.
“At DTE’s direction, EES Coke sought the removal of pollution limits that allowed the facility to burn more coke oven gas and emit sulfur dioxide pollution,” Rock said.
