Climate Advocates Voces Unidas
While we are all busy protecting our families and communities from COVID-19, the Trump Administration continues to move forward with weakening environmental regulations that are critical to protecting our public health. In an unprecedented move, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has essentially suspended environmental safeguards for the oil and gas industry indefinitely due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.These are the very rules that are critical to protecting our public health. It is unacceptable that the EPA has abdicated its role in protecting public health – especially given that our lives are being deeply impacted by the current crisis.
It is more critical than ever that we protect our air, land, water and wildlife for our long-term resilience and survival. Even now, we need to minimize environmental degradation and climate-changing pollution – two ingredients that make for worse public health crises in the future. Tell the EPA to do their job and enforce laws that protect us all.
In our view, environmental protection should be supported as an essential service, and the men and women who fulfill these vital roles should be given the tools they need to continue to work safely.
At minimum, the EPA should put a deadline on their weakened enforcement approach.
To: Susan Bodine, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement
I do not support your unprecedented move to waive requirements for oil and gas operators to abide by environmental laws designed to protect air, land, water and public health. Environmental protection should be considered an essential service, and the men and women who fulfill these vital roles should be given the tools they need to continue to work safely.
It is more critical than ever that we protect our air, land, water and wildlife for our long-term resilience and survival. Even now, we need to minimize environmental degradation and climate-changing pollution – two ingredients that make for worse public health crises in the future. The mission of EPA is to protect public health and we urge you to continue that work, especially during the current public health crisis.
Please return to enforcing environmental laws in the oil and gas field to protect us all.
Thank you,
