The good news is that over the last decade, going back to the Bush Administration, legislation backed by funding for environmental work has produced dramatically positive results for U.S. air quality. According to the first of three following articles:
“Toxic air releases are down by half over the last 10 years….
Reported toxic air releases were down 56 percent
As of 2015, the combined emissions of the six criteria air pollutants that have federal standards were down 71 percent since 1970.”
Then comes Trump… His proposed budget will essentially eliminate funding for environmental protection. As much as most of us are appalled that he believes that climate change is a hoax (something scientists all over the world are marching against today at over 600 sites worldwide) it is unimaginable that this administration would stop funding projects that are making our drinking water safe to consume. This is despite his and EPA Director Scott Pruitt’s promise to the contrary.
I’ve already blogged about proposed Trump budget cutting 97% of the funding for the Great Lakes Restoration (Who Needs Healthy, Clean, Safe Great Lakes Anyway?) and now
“President Trump’s proposal to zero out the $73 million program…
“President Trump’s proposal to completely eliminate the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program is completely absurd,” Carper said. “Slashing the funding that allows the EPA to maintain this environmental and economic resource is irresponsible, and it’s bad for business. A thriving bay means a thriving local economy, and any actions to undo the progress we’ve made to the restore the bay are shortsighted and put millions at risk.”
I have also informed you (This is Exactly The Problem) of the leak of the chemical (hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen) that was the same one which Erin Brokovitch made famous in the movie about her fight to clean it up. It happened at the U.S. Steel plant in Indiana that resulted in the chemical flowing into Lake Michigan. Not only is the Trump budget proposing to eliminate the department of the EPA that monitors and polices this but now we find out that in addition, the Region 5 office of the EPA in Chicago is slated to be closed. See the article below.
I imagine that much of this information is stuff that is going on under your radar. By bringing it to your attention you will realize how harmful these actions will be to YOUR personal health and that of others. It is also economically bad as well as all the articles and research points out. So what is the point??? Bad, bad, bad. Bad for public health which will raise the cost of health care and kill people. Bad for the economy for so many reasons. Bad for the environment.
We citizens simply must not allow this to happen. And if it does, we have to get ride of any politician that votes for it. But YOU must get engaged.
U.S. Air Quality Improves ‘Dramatically’ —Report
Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, E&E News reporter
Published: Monday, April 17, 2017
Toxic air releases are down by half over the last 10 years, according to a new report.
The report from the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies compares U.S. EPA and other agency data from states, including the 20 states that serve on the AAPCA board of directors, to show that federal, state and local air quality agencies have made progress in “virtually every measure of air pollution control.”
“Air quality has improved dramatically, and ambient air monitoring data continues to reveal the downward trend of air pollutants. It is, perhaps, the greatest story seldom told, and one that is certainly worth telling,” said AAPCA President Sean Alteri, director of the Kentucky Division for Air Quality.
Reported toxic air releases were down 56 percent, or over 851 million pounds, between 2005 and 2015, according to the report.
As of 2015, the combined emissions of the six criteria air pollutants that have federal standards were down 71 percent since 1970.
The report also found that the United States has “far exceeded” the international air quality trends. Over the last decade, the United States reported some of the lowest levels of average annual fine particulate matter and the largest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the world.
AAPCA is an organization focused on assisting state and local air quality agencies with implementation and technical issues related to the federal Clean Air Act.
Between 2000 and 2015, states that are members of AAPCA saw a more rapid reduction of nitrogen oxides emissions than the national average, according to the report.
“AAPCA members, who have primary responsibility for air quality in parts of the country growing in population and economic activity, have demonstrated leadership across all key metrics of air quality success,” said Stuart Spencer, vice president of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
Twitter: @ceceliasmith12 Email: csmith@eenews.net
Budget Cuts Could Close Chicago Regional Office — Report
Published: Monday, April 17, 2017
President Trump’s budget cuts to U.S. EPA may close the agency’s Region 5 office in Chicago, which would merge with the office in Kansas, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The office oversees much of the Great Lakes region.
The agency was directed to choose two offices for closure by June 15, according to previous reports by Politico.
Last week, U.S. Steel Corp. spilled wastewater potentially containing hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen, into Lake Michigan and some of its tributaries.
“The report that the federal government is planning to close the Region 5 office of the EPA should be concerning to us all,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in response to the Sun-Times story, citing the Lake Michigan spill (Greenwire, April 13; Michael Sneed, Chicago Sun-Times, April 15). — NB
CHESAPEAKE BAY
Senate Dems fight proposed cleanup cuts
Ariel Wittenberg, E&E News reporter
Published: Monday, April 17, 2017
Cardin and Carper
Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland (center) and Tom Carper of Delaware (left) today spoke in defense of strong federal funding for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Photo courtesy of Cardin via Twitter.
The top two Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee visited the shores of the Chesapeake Bay today to show their support for U.S. EPA’s cleanup efforts.
Ranking member Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) decried President Trump’s proposal to zero out the $73 million program during a stop at Hemingway’s Restaurant in Stevensville, Md.
“President Trump’s proposal to completely eliminate the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program is completely absurd,” Carper said. “Slashing the funding that allows the EPA to maintain this environmental and economic resource is irresponsible, and it’s bad for business. A thriving bay means a thriving local economy, and any actions to undo the progress we’ve made to the restore the bay are shortsighted and put millions at risk.”
Delaware is one of six states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that have been working together since 1983 to restore the waterway, where nitrogen and phosphorus pollution have depleted oxygen levels and smothered aquatic life and seagrass.
In 2010, those states and the District of Columbia agreed to the so-called pollution diet to cut releases. The plan has been controversial because of its implications for curbing agriculture runoff, something over which EPA has little authority under the Clean Water Act.
Still, the plan survived a high-profile lawsuit from farm groups last year. Backing the litigation was current EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who filed an amicus brief in the case as Oklahoma attorney general.
Today, EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program coordinates science, research and modeling, as well as grants to state and local governments, to implement plans for reducing nutrient pollution.
In his remarks, Cardin noted that the Chesapeake Bay is the country’s largest estuary, with more than 11 million people relying on rivers and streams within the watershed for drinking water.
“The Chesapeake Bay Program and related efforts are delivering encouraging results throughout the watershed and have built tremendous momentum moving forward, yet President Trump still targeted them for elimination,” Cardin said. “Pulling the federal government out of this effective regional partnership makes absolutely no sense to anyone who cares about a healthy economy or a healthy environment.”
Carper and Cardin’s speech is the latest move from lawmakers representing the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Last month, nine of the 11 area senators wrote a letter asking their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to spare cleanup efforts from spending cuts (Greenwire, March 20).
Twitter: @arielwittenberg Email: awittenberg@eenews.net
