The New York Times has an article that describes how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pushing ahead with many rollbacks right now, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPA is doing this despite the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic that is happening to lives, businesses, schools, and the economy, despite many of its own employees working from home while homeschooling, and despite the fact that many scientists and medical researchers are focused on finding treatments and vaccine for COVID-19, and not able to attend to their regular research. The New York Times reports the atmosphere at EPA as “relentless.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/climate/coronavirus-environmental-regulations-trump.html
Rules that EPA is working to roll back include:
— A new rule called “Transparency in Science” which would severely limit scientific studies EPA is allowed to use. EPA did extend the comment period into May, which is good, but it is not holding a virtual hearing.
— A revision of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) which was signed into law in 1970. The new revision would seriously undermine EPA’s ability to consider cumulative health effects from an ongoing exposure, and would bar it from considering effects that are remote in time or place, which would remove EPA’s ability to consider climate change and many air pollution health effects.
— A new rule weakening automobile efficiency standards which was finalized March 31. This new rule will harm us all by allowing more air pollution and making climate change worse.
— A new rule weakening the Mercury and Air Toxics rule which was finalized in 2011. EPA is pushing ahead with this even though utilities and industry groups have asked EPA not to change the existing rule.
— A new rule weakening standards adopted in 2015 that monitor and regulates coal ash and the heavy metals and dangerous hydrocarbons that can leach from coal ash ponds.
EPA is pushing ahead with all these unhealthy rules, while there is a pandemic raging and many states have a shelter-in-place order in effect. Relaxing air pollution rules in the midst of a viral epidemic could actually make more people get sick from the virus, and could make those who get sick more at risk of a severe illness. It doesn’t make sense, and it makes you wonder how EPA says they’re doing this to protect health.
