Democratic-led states, counties and cities are urging EPA to abandon its plans to scrap the keystone of the agency’s climate regulations — the endangerment finding for greenhouse gases.
In lengthy public comments led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and New York Attorney General Letitia James, the coalition previewed some of the legal arguments against scrapping the finding, saying that it would violate federal law, Supreme Court precedent and the will of Congress.
“With this reckless proposal, the EPA is ignoring science in favor of abandoning its responsibility to protect the American people,” said James. “Rolling back these critical protections would worsen asthma, heart disease, and premature deaths, and put vulnerable communities at even greater risk.”
EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding established that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, laying the foundation for the agency’s subsequent regulations on heat-trapping emissions from vehicles, power plants and the oil and gas sector.
