Environmental and Union Groups Plan Press Conference at EPA for 2:30 pm Today
Washington, D.C. – The Environmental Integrity Project issued the following statement today in response to the Trump Administration’s attacks on EPA programs meant to help protect communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods living downwind and downstream of the nation’s worst industrial polluters.
“The Trump Administration’s chaotic attack on EPA and the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will expose Americans across the country to more deadly pollution,” said Jen Duggan, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “EPA rules save American lives and dramatically reduce health care costs. People suffering from the highest pollution burdens in our country deserve protection — not the billion-dollar corporations that profit by using our public resources as their private dumping ground.”
In response to the attacks on EPA programs, a coalition of environmental and union groups are planning to hold a press conference today with members of Congress at 2:30 pm outside EPA headquarters at 302 12th St, NW, in Washington, D.C. People who plan to attend are asked to register using this link.
In addition to cutting off funding for climate and clean air and water programs, threatened mass layoffs, and attacks on the EPA Office of Environmental Justice, the Trump Administration also yesterday took offline a public database of information called “EJScreen” that provides data about the race and income of communities living near major industrial polluters and the increased threats of cancer and other diseases that they face.”
“Censoring public information about the real human impact of dangerous pollution is un-American,” said Duggan. “Our democracy depends on the availability of this kind of public information, and this move undermines our right to know what is happening in our communities.”
The Environmental Integrity Project is America’s environmental watchdog. We hold polluters and governments accountable to protect public health and the environment.
Media contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org
