The impact will be felt across the U.S., groups predicted. For example, Brett Korte, a senior attorney for Clean Wisconsin, said he expects “devastating consequences” if the rollback remains in place.
“Here in Wisconsin, we are experiencing warmer winters with less snow and ice cover, more exceedingly hot days in the summer, and more extreme weather events such as floods and tornadoes due to climate change,” Korte said. “In addition, Wisconsin has the ninth-highest mortality rate from particulate matter pollution from burning fossil fuels. If the EPA abdicated its responsibility for regulating carbon pollution, these problems would only get worse.”
The EPA’s timing is terrible and communities will suffer needless deaths if the court doesn’t step in, said Vickie Patton, who serves as general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund.
“More Americans than ever before are suffering from the dangerous heat and stronger storms caused by this pollution, and are facing the skyrocketing insurance bills and health care costs that result,” Patton said. With climate pollution from power plants currently on the rise, the EPA rule change will “cause thousands of premature deaths and billions of dollars in additional health care costs,” she predicted.
“We are taking legal action to ensure this [the] “The EPA is fulfilling its responsibilities under our nation’s clean air laws to protect the American people from this harmful pollution and address the health risks and financial costs to people across the country,” Patton said.
Thousands of Americans have submitted comments on the rule change so far, and the EPA continues to seek public input. Later this month, EPA will hold a public hearing on the proposed repeal and the public comment period runs through October.
