Seventy years ago, a weather inversion in Donora trapped a poisonous mixture of air pollution that killed 20 people and sickened half the town. The disaster helped pave the way for national laws that protect Americans from dangerous air pollution.
Today, our right to breathe clean air is once again being threatened -- this time, believe it or not, by the Environmental Protection Agency -- the very agency mandated to protect human health and the environment.
Environmental Protection Administrator Scott Pruitt has recently announced plans to roll back rules designed to control pollution from automobiles. And now he's talking about restricting the rights of Pennsylvania and other states to offer their residents access to cleaner cars and trucks.
According to the American Lung Association's just-released annual State of the Air report, Pennsylvania is home to some of the nation's worst air quality and is not showing adequate improvement.
Allegheny County receives straight F grades in the 2018 assessment, the only county outside of California to earn this dubious honor. With respect to high ozone days, Allegheny County and Philadelphia received an F. With respect to high particle pollution days, Allegheny County and Dauphin County received an F.
And many areas across the state - including the Philadelphia area - are suffering from an increase in high ozone days. Ozone (smog) forms when emissions from automobiles and other sources of pollution react chemically with sunlight. It can cause asthma attacks and exacerbates other medical problems, leading to emergency-room visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths.
Federal clean-car rules, which cover emissions and fuel efficiency, play a critical role in keeping smog in check.
The most recent agreement, reached with the federal government in 2012, saw automakers agreeing to reasonable emissions and fuel-economy targets through model year 2025.
But now, instead of honoring and enforcing this historic agreement, EPA chief Pruitt is claiming it is "not appropriate and should be revised."
It's astonishing that the top environmental-protection official in the country objects to flexible, reasonable, life-saving standards the automakers have already agreed to -- especially considering that car makers have been complying with interim targets and at lower costs than originally projected.
Going even further, Pruitt is now taking aim at leaders in Pennsylvania and other states, challenging their right and responsibility to protect their own citizens when the federal government refuses to do so.
States have an established legal right to protect the health and welfare of their citizens by imposing more stringent vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.
For twenty years, Pennsylvania and 11 other states have exercised this right, following California's stronger standards rather than the weaker national standards, in order to better address dangerous air pollution within their states.
This makes it especially alarming that Pruitt is not only attempting to roll back federal clean car standards, but also threatening to repeal state authority on the issue.
Pruitt seems to want to frame this as a battle between the Trump administration and blue states -- between right and left.
But the truth is that the 13 "clean car" states that have protected their people by adopting stronger vehicle standards include states -- such as Pennsylvania -- that voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
This coalition represents more than 113 million Americans and over one-third of the new car marketplace. And just this week, Pennsylvania joined an even broader coalition of 18 states, representing close to 50 percent of the nation's auto market, in suing the EPA over this issue.
Pennsylvania leaders understand that our air quality is not a political issue -- it's about protecting public health and the environment. People across our state have worked for decades to improve air quality.
They understand that Pennsylvania is still home to some of the smoggiest cities in the nation, and that cleaner air means healthier Pennsylvanians who spend less on medical care.
The Clean Air Council also applauds leaders like Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and State College Mayor Don Hahn, who signed onto a statement from over 50 mayors and a dozen state attorneys general from across the country, vowing to fight for states' rights to insist on cleaner cars.
Every Pennsylvanian who breathes should cheer them on, and every American who cares about a healthier future should join them.
For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Clean Air Council website. 50th Anniversary. Click Here to support their work.
(Photo: Clean Air Council Run For Clean Air.)
(Photo: Clean Air Council Run For Clean Air.)
Joseph Minott is Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the Clean Air Council.
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