WASHINGTON — Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to Jackson, Miss., in November to discuss the city’s poor water quality at an elementary school where children have to drink bottled water and use portable restrooms outside the building.The day he arrived, the halls were largely empty. Students had been sent home because the water pressure at the school was so low that even the portable toilets couldn’t flush.That scene and others he witnessed as he traveled to low-income communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere have prompted him to make some changes, he said.On Wednesday the E.P.A. announced that it will step up monitoring and enforcement of federal rules regarding air and water quality, particularly in communities of color, which are disproportionately burdened by pollution.“Seeing the situation for myself, talking directly to community members, it is startling where we get to this point — the point where children miss school days because the water isn’t safe,” Mr. Regan said. He called the environmental conditions he had witnessed in many parts of the nation “unacceptable in the United States of America.”President Biden has made addressing racial disparities, including those related to the environment, a core part of his agenda. He convened an advisory council made up of some of the pioneers in the environmental justice movement. He instructed agencies to incorporate environmental justice into decision making. And he pledged that disadvantaged communities would receive at least 40 percent of the benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy programs.But recently Mr. Biden’s top environmental justice appointee, Cecilia Martinez, and another appointee, David Kieve, who had conducted outreach with environmental justice groups for the White House, both left their posts.The departures have prompted concerns about the future of Mr. Biden’s environmental justice agenda.ImageMr. Regan, center, with Errick L. Greene, left, superintendent of the Jackson, Miss., schools, and Jackson’s mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, right, toured a school where low water pressure made the bathrooms inoperable.Credit...Rogelio V. Solis/Associated PressMr. Regan did not address the issue directly on Tuesday in a call with reporters, but he said he felt an obligation to marginalized communities where “folks have been waiting long enough” for federal attention. He has spent the last year touring towns and meeting with community members as part of what the E.P.A. has called his Journey to Justice tour.“I pledge to do better by people in communities who have been hurting for far too long,” Mr. Regan said.The agency will increase unannounced inspections to keep polluting industries “on their toes,” Mr. Regan said, asserting that the Trump administration had not conducted enough such inspections. Monitoring of polluting industries fell off sharply in March 2020 when the Trump administration said those industries would not be held responsible if the pandemic made it difficult to comply with federal limits on air and water pollution or requirements to manage hazardous waste or ensure safe drinking water.Among the changes announced Wednesday, the E.P.A. said it would increase the number of air pollution inspectors and use novel monitoring methods like a new aircraft that uses sensors and software to detect emissions in real time.Understand the Latest News on Climate Change
Card 1 of 3Gone, but not forgotten.A68a, one of the biggest icebergs ever seen, broke off an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula in 2017, drifted slowly for a few years and eventually melted in 2021. Here is what new research tells us about its journey and potential effects. Environmental health risks.A new study found that hotter days were associated with more emergency-room visits for children across the U.S. Meanwhile, an examination of health data from older Americans found that even low levels of fine soot can increase a person’s chance of dying early.Hitting a wall.With the Build Back Better Act hitting a wall in Congress, some Democrats want to forge ahead with a stand-alone climate bill. But their solution could mean abandoning other parts of President Biden’s agenda.Robert Taylor, 81, a lifelong resident of St. John Parish, La., and leader of the Concerned Citizens of St. John, became emotional as he described Mr. Regan’s visit to the region known as “cancer alley” because of high rates of illness, especially among Black and low-income communities near petrochemical plants.“We had been so downtrodden and beaten down by our efforts to try to protect ourselves, and we were being attacked by those who were supposed to protect us,” Mr. Taylor said.In St. James Parish and St. John theBy: Lisa Friedman
Title: E.P.A. Chief Vows to ‘Do Better’ to Protect Poor Communities
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/climate/epa-environmental-justice-regan.html
Published Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 20:57:06 +0000
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