Chairwoman Johnson Submits Comment on Environmental Justice Impacts of Proposed EPA Clean Air Act Benefit-Cost Rule
(Dallas, TX) – Today, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) submitted a comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule entitled “Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process.” The proposed rule would enact a number of changes to EPA’s methodologies and procedures for conducting Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) as a part of Clean Air Act rulemakings. These changes could undermine the Agency’s ability to accurately consider the full environmental and health impacts of clean air regulations for vulnerable communities by distorting the calculations of benefits and costs for regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act.
“EPA’s primary tool to diminish Americans’ exposure to dangerous air pollutants and improve air quality is the promulgation of regulations under the Clean Air Act,” said Chairwoman Johnson in the comment. “According to EPA’s own calculations, the Agency’s implementation of this landmark law has prevented hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in recent decades. Since communities of color experience a heavier air pollution burden than white communities, they possess an enormous stake in the regulations put forth under the CAA’s mandate and rely upon those regulations to properly consider and incorporate the best available science regarding racial disparities in pollution exposure.”
A full copy of the comment can be found here.
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