Carper Statement on EPA’s Change to NAAQS Review Process

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announced changes to the review process for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) as outlined in the Clean Air Act:

 “Just last week, after being compelled by the courts, Mr. Pruitt’s EPA begrudgingly submitted ozone nonattainment designations under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program – a full six months after they were required by law. Today’s decision by EPA undermines the science-based review process for the NAAQS and it is just one more attempt by Mr. Pruitt to avoid performing EPA’s basic duty to ensure clean air for every American.

 “Congress’s clear intent was for the NAAQS requirements to use the best science available to protect public health, and Mr. Pruitt’s decision today to undermine that science-based process fails to live up to the letter of the law. Instead, these changes are a thinly veiled effort to inject politics into what has always been a health- and science-based review process. Crafted without any meaningful review of public health data to evaluate the real life impacts, Mr. Pruitt is once again making life-altering decisions that benefit his lobbyist and industry friends, at the expense of the health of the American people.”

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