FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2020

Contact: Shannon Flaherty
(775) 315-6831
Shannon.Flaherty@sen.ca.gov

(Sacramento, CA) – President Trump on Thursday, taking another swipe at long-standing national environmental safeguards, signed an executive order asking federal agencies to waive required environmental reviews of infrastructure projects built during the COVID-19 induced economic downturn.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also proposed changes to the way the agency assesses and enacts Clean Air Act regulations--in essence weakening future air pollution rules.
 
Senator Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, and Co-Chair of the California State Legislative Environmental Caucus issued this statement on the change in regulations:
 
“President Trump is once again using the current crises as a pretext to roll back public health and environmental protections. Our nation needs a President who is more focused on protecting the public from harmful pollution than on shielding polluters from responsibility,” said Senator Ben Allen. “During a time where our nation must strive for racial and economic justice, these rollbacks only set back disadvantaged communities further.  In California, we will continue to fight for environmental standards that protect public health. We're going to use whatever tools we have in our toolbox to fight these misguided rollbacks.”
 
These most recent changes come after the Trump EPA has already aimed to remove requirements for companies to report when their factories discharge certain levels of pollution into the air or water earlier this year. The Agency has also moved to weaken fuel emissions standards and relax polluting restrictions for coal.

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Ben Allen represents the 26th State Senate District. which consists of the Hollywood, Westside, and South Bay communities of Los Angeles County.