{"id":3738,"date":"2024-09-12T11:38:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/legal-brief-filed-by-environmental-justice-orgs-defending-epa-clean-air-standards\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:56:06","slug":"legal-brief-filed-by-environmental-justice-orgs-defending-epa-clean-air-standards","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/legal-brief-filed-by-environmental-justice-orgs-defending-epa-clean-air-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Brief Filed by Environmental Justice Orgs Defending EPA Clean Air Standards"},"template":"","class_list":["post-3738","update","type-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","update_type-press-release","person_tax-anastasia-gordon"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"featured_image":5221,"update_type":[366],"focus_area":false,"authors":[226],"abstract":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><br \/>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sept 17, 2024<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact: Ashley Sullivan, <\/span><a href=\"mailto:ashley.sullivan@weact.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ashley.sullivan@weact.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><b>WASHINGTON &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members of the national environmental justice cohort, \u2018<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/campaigns\/dare-to-breathe\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clean Air for the Long Haul<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 including <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/weact.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.southbronxunite.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Bronx Unite<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weranc.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West End Revitalization Association (WERA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> alongside groups\u2014Community Health Aligning Revitalization, Resistance &amp; Sustainability (CHARRS), Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP), and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)\u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Document-2071766-Amicus-Curiae-Brief-in-Support-of-Respondents-by-We-ACT-et-al.-8.26.2024.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">filed a \u201cfriend of the court\u201d brief (called an \u201camicus\u201d brief)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/2024\/02\/environmental-justice-coalition-commends-new-epa-soot-pollution-standards-still-calls-for-greater-enforcement-to-protect-black-brown-lives-harmed-by-dirty-air\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s national ambient air quality standard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for fine particulate matter, or soot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2024, after months of organizing to provide expertise and comments by Clean Air for the Long Haul and collaborating groups, the EPA finally <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-finalizes-stronger-standards-harmful-soot-pollution-significantly-increasing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it was strengthening the annual particulate matter pollution standard from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter. Numerous states and polluting industries are now <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ag.ky.gov\/Press%20Release%20Attachments\/2024-03-06%20Petition%20for%20Review.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">challenging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the standard in court, claiming EPA\u2019s consideration of environmental justice in setting the standard was unlawful. The brief makes the argument that the Clean Air Act not only authorizes, but <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">requires<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> EPA to consider the heightened vulnerability of environmental justice communities to adverse health impacts from soot pollution when setting the standard.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur communities have endured decades of discrimination in the form of ever present soot choking our lungs. Although a more stringent annual standard for Particulate Matter (PM) of 8 micrograms per cubic meter (\u00b5g\/m3) would save many more lives, this new rule will save thousands of individuals, especially in the most polluted communities of color, including the South Bronx. The fact that the EPA\u2019s new standard, which is still a compromise, is being challenged is outrageous and dangerous. No amount of soot pollution is acceptable or healthy, and we won\u2019t go back to a weaker standard.\u201d &#8211; <strong>Arif Ullah, South Bronx Unite<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn 1995, WERA was founded to address the denial of basic public health amenities due historic patterns of discrimination. Industry has no place in trying to override the necessary and civil rights legal obligation of federal agencies to protect the health and well-being of people across the country, especially for the most vulnerable and impacted communities. We will continue to push for the EPA to set an even stronger national standard in the future to better protect communities facing environmental injustices by making the air safer to breathe, thereby reducing health problems, and saving lives. <strong>&#8211; Omega Wilson, West End Revitalization Association (WERA)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe science and the law is clear &#8211; EPA is justified in strengthening a standard that accounts for the disproportionate impacts of fine particulate matter pollution plaguing environmental justice communities nationwide. Federal air quality standards are needed to safeguard public health and literally save lives. The court must not give into polluting industry interests. Doing so will set a dangerous precedent. We will not stop fighting for stronger clean air standards and enforcement to ensure our communities thrive and not just survive\u201d &#8211;<strong> Anastasia Gordon, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soot pollution is deadly. These minuscule, invisible particles primarily emitted from vehicles, power plants, agriculture, and industrial processes lodge deep into human lungs and into the bloodstream causing serious\u00a0health risks, including asthma and asthma aggravation, lung disease, heart attacks and coronary heart disease, preterm births, and premature death. Communities of color and low-wealth communities suffer from the highest exposure levels and as a result, are at a greater risk of serious health impacts and premature death than the general population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In setting a more protective standard, EPA rightfully and lawfully considered the increased vulnerability of communities of color and low-wealth communities to harmful health impacts from soot pollution. We will continue to advocate for those who have been harmed by a legacy of prejudicial policy, and we will not stop until we ensure the right to clean air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>WE ACT for Environmental Justice\u00a0is 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\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/\">weact.org<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weactforej\/\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/weact4ej\">Twitter\/X<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/weact4ej\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Legal Brief Filed by Environmental Justice Orgs Defending EPA Clean Air Standards - WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/legal-brief-filed-by-environmental-justice-orgs-defending-epa-clean-air-standards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal Brief Filed by Environmental Justice Orgs Defending EPA Clean Air Standards - 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