calling all people who care

If the EPA Sits On Its Hands, Citizens Will Get to Their Feet

States, the Feds, and the EPA aren’t the only ones who have power to protect the environment

By Jonathan Hahn | Feb 15 2017

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/green-life/if-epa-sits-its-hands-citizens-will-get-their-feet




What can environmental groups and all people who care about the environment and public health do in response?


States, governments, and the EPA aren’t the only ones who have the power to protect the environment. Citizens can take action, too. The nation’s environmental statutes have citizen suit provisions such that aggrieved citizens can bring enforcement actions—essentially stepping into the shoes of the federal government.


“The citizen suit provisions [of The Clean Air Act] have two prongs,” says Richard L. Revesz, the Lawrence King Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at New York University School of Law, where he directs the Institute for Policy Integrity. “Citizens can sue polluters for violating the environmental standards that apply to them. If the EPA or a state doesn’t bring enforcement actions against a polluter [that is] emitting more air pollution than is permitted under the regulation, some affected individual can bring a suit to compel a source to comply with its regulatory obligations. The second is that EPA under the statute has various non-discretionary duties. That is, it’s required by statute to take certain actions, and if it doesn’t do them, that’s another possible reason for citizen litigation. Citizens can then sue to compel EPA to carry out a non-discretionary duty under the statute.”

economic development and safe, healthy environment not mutually exclusive

Dan Rather

· December 8, 2016 ·

There is no gated community when it comes to the environment. No wall high enough to stop dirty air. No guards who can check the IDs of the storms and droughts ...that will increase with intensity when it comes to the devastating effects of climate change. There are many social problems that the rich and powerful can wilfully disregard by separating themselves from the poor and powerless - but the environment isn't one of them. I really don't understand the motivations of those who seem eager to pollute the one Earth we all must call home. Never have. Never will.

And yet, from all accounts, Donald Trump's pick of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency could easily turn the name of the group he might soon lead into a mockery. The EPA is the cop on the beat to make sure our air is safe to breathe and our water safe to drink. Its role, in the age of climate change, is more vital than ever. You could argue that its mission now is one of national - and global - security for life as we know it. It was created by a Republican president - Richard Nixon - at a time that now seems utterly foreign, when the health of the planet was largely a bipartisan concern. But Pruitt is not of the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt - or even Nixon. He has, at seemingly every turn of his public, life worked hard to lessen if not destroy the very regulations and initiatives he will now be tasked to oversee - on soot-free air, water free of poisonous chemicals, and of course the crisis of climate change.


There will always be some friction between the needs of human beings, living in a modern world, and environmental protection. However modern science, technology and philosophies over how we move, generate power, conserve resources, even what we eat, can provide solutions for reducing the negative shadow our species casts over so much of life on Earth. By being bold and creative, we can be more prosperous and healthy. As Pope Francis said recently, we are "stewards not masters" of our planet. For the life of me, I can't see how anybody could find that statement controversial or objectionable unless you are so blinded by shortsightedness. It is a political trope to talk about the world you want for your children and grandchildren, but with the environment that is not spin. It's real. Deadly real. And we need leadership that understands that.