FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2024
Contact: Ashley Sullivan, ashley.sullivan@weact.org
WASHINGTON – In a unified effort, over 175 organizations this month joined together opposing S.4753, Senators Manchin and Barrasso’s Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA). Led by WE ACT for Environmental Justice, GreenLatinos, Indigenous Environmental Network, and Black Hive (M4BL), the letter outlines the specific concerns of frontline, environmental justice, as well as Tribal organizations and communities.
Leslie Fields, Chief Federal Officer at WE ACT for Environmental Justice shares,
“The tremendous participation of groups opposing this bill demonstrates how far reaching its shortcomings are and how felt the real potential damage is. This bill would set an unjust precedent for our energy transition we cannot afford – including fundamentally undoing the essential democratic processes through which communities can voice their concerns for harmful projects placed in their backyards. At the same time, it would fast-track Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export projects which are disproportionately sited in environmental justice communities, while ignoring localized pollution, water contamination, and financial hardship associated with fossil fuel infrastructure. Energy policies must break the cycle of sacrificing our communities. Instead, we must collectively move forward towards a just and equitable clean energy future.”
Irene Burga, Climate Justice and Clean Air Director for GreenLatinos responded,
“The Energy Permitting Reform Act is a blatant attack on environmental justice, disproportionately targeting Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. This bill undermines decades of hard-fought progress by stripping away the public’s right to engage in decisions that impact their health and environment. We need an equitable, transparent energy system that uplifts all communities—not one that sacrifices them for fossil fuel interests.”
People of color disproportionately live near fossil fuel infrastructure due to a legacy of prejudicial redlining practices. Despite portraying itself as a bill that would advance green energy permitting, this bill perpetuates unequal burden and continues the practice of using environmental justice communities as sacrifice zones by locking in more fossil fuel projects in these communities for decades. EPRA would implement Project 2025 priorities, including fast tracking fossil fuel projects, undoing the Biden Administration’s pause on approving Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export projects, and automatic Department of Energy (DOE) approval after 90 days of new LNG exports, regardless of potential harm. EPRA also implements limits on judicial review and public participation, shortening the time communities need to challenge harmful projects and weakening the primary pathways communities can utilize to legally voice their concerns.
Though models associated with the bill claim emissions reductions, these are overly optimistic and cherry-picked scenarios, ignoring the full scope of likely emissions. Models also fail to acknowledge localized pollution, water contamination, and financial hardship resulting from fossil fuel infrastructure. In response, many environmental justice leaders have spoken out against the bill and advocates continue to sound the alarm on what many are calling a Dirty Deal.
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram.