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This week, after the Environmental Protection Agency acted under an order from President Trump, environmental groups were furious and urged coal plants and other industrial polluters to bypass key provisions in the Clean Air Act, which limits dangerous emissions by sending emails.
“The EPA has set up email boxes so that regulated communities can request presidential exemptions. [a provision] The agency announced on Monday. The announcement also included a template that applicants would use in their requests.
Provisions in question, Section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act applies to the regulation of nearly 200 contaminants, including mercury, arsenic, benzene and formaldehyde.
In its announcement, the EPA said the Clean Air Act allows the president to exempt “fixed sources” of air pollution, or non-vehicle sources, from compliance with the regulations for up to two years.
Opponents said the plan would amount to a card with no escape for polluters and would add to the Trump administration’s onslaught of hard-won protections.
“This is an email inbox from hell, as important protection for the air we breathe dies,” Jason Rylander, legal director at the Climate Law Institute at the nonprofit Center for Biodiversity, said in a statement. “It’s really only right for the Trump administration to allow polluters to release more brain-damaging toxins to our children by simply sending emails.”
The EPA exemption template asks applicants to explain why they cannot meet their emission reduction goals and why extensions lie in the national security benefits of the country.
According to the EPA, e-mail alone does not guarantee exemptions. Instead, the president said he would “make a decision on merits,” according to an agency announcement this week.
“What they’re doing is unprecedented,” said Adam Kron, senior lawyer at Earthjustice, nonprofit environmental law group. “To our knowledge it has never been used in the Clean Air Act, which provides the ability to seek this presidential exemption.
In his number, the exemption could apply to at least 764 sources of pollution in nine industrial sectors, including chemical manufacturing, copper smelting, steel production and coal-fired power plants.
Interested businesses will need to email their exemption requests until March 31st. According to the EPA, the exemption could be granted for up to two years and could be renewed if necessary.
Fossil fuel companies and other regulatory groups have long complained that complying with the Clean Air Act is overly expensive and troublesome. Many celebrated earlier this month when Trump’s EPA administrator announced plans to roll back 31 rules and regulations governing air and water quality standards to reduce costs.
“President Donald Trump and EPA administrator Lee Zeldin responded to the nationwide manufacturers’ calls due to burdensome federal regulations that are hampering the national competitive ability,” the manufacturers said at the time.
Trump — which received a record-breaking donation from a fossil fuel company during the presidential election in recent weeks — has also vowed to increase coal production.
However, environmental groups said the latest moves indicate further erosion of safety measures aimed at protecting the health and well-being of communities across the country.
“This loophole kills Americans if kept in place. It’s simple and simple,” wrote Laurie Williams, director of the Beyond Coal campaign at the nonprofit Sierra Club. “This is perfectly lined up with the mission of government agencies and the Americans that are worthy of our government.”
Several environmental groups have already submitted a list of applicants and a Freedom of Information Act request for justification to clean up justification for the Presidential Immunization.
If the exemption is enforced, they will likely face legal opposition, said Cron of Earth Justice. “We are ready to take all the steps to protect our clients and communities who are really aiming to follow these rules to protect our health and livelihoods.”
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