EPA decision to reverse health protections will harm Appalachians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2025

CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (540) 798-6683, dan@appvoices.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce that it will be rolling back health protections related to emissions from power plants. Specifically, reports indicate that the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will announce that the agency will reverse or reduce limitations on the amount of mercury, lead, nickel, arsenic and carbon dioxide emissions that these facilities can release into the air. These emissions lead to higher rates of asthma attacks, premature deaths and cardiovascular diseases, and are contributing to worsening natural disasters such as deadly heat waves, hurricanes and wildfires across the world, including in Appalachia.

Statement from Director of Government Affairs and Strategy Chelsea Barnes:

“Corporate polluters with access to the Trump administration make more money when they don’t have to worry about protecting our communities’ health, but the rest of us in Appalachia and across the country will feel the negative impacts. This action by the EPA, paired with the broad cancellation of billions of dollars in federal grants meant to help people clean up pollution and congressional and agency efforts to skip and eliminate environmental review for new polluting projects, will undoubtedly make Americans less healthy and less safe.”