Pennsylvania has joined 21 other states in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding.
On March 19, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed onto a lawsuit over the February finding that the EPA lacks statutory authority under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act to set standards for greenhouse emissions. Those are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change.
“Pollution puts people’s health at risk, makes severe weather worse, threatens our farmers’ crops, and makes health care more expensive,” Shapiro said in a news release.
While the case plays out in court, Pittsburgh-area environmental experts say the EPA’s repeal could have implications for air quality and the environment in Western Pennsylvania. Allegheny County has historically and consistently ranked poor in air quality by the American Lung Association.
The 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding
In December 2009, two findings regarding greenhouse gases were added to the Clean Air Act. The first was the “Endangerment Finding” and the second was the “Cause or Contribute Finding.”
The Endangerment Finding determined that the atmosphere’s current and projected concentrations of the six greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) — threatened the “public health and welfare of current and future generations,” according to the EPA.
The finding further determined that emissions of the six greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles and their engines contributed to the greenhouse gas pollution that threatens public health and welfare.
After standing for more than a decade as a prerequisite for regulating emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines, the Endangerment Finding was rescinded on Feb. 12.
“The EPA further determines that [greenhouse] emission standards for new motor vehicles and engines do not impact in any material way the public health and welfare concerns identified in the Administrator’s prior findings in 2009 … the EPA concludes that it lacks statutory authority to regulate (greenhouse) emissions in response to global climate change concerns,” the ruling said.
In a statement from the EPA given to TribLive, the agency said its analysis determined that “EPA is bound by the laws established by Congress, including under the [Clean Air Act]. Congress never intended to give EPA authority to impose [greenhouse] regulations for cars and trucks.”
The updated action goes into effect on April 20.
The Trump administration believes that the repeal will “save Americans over $1.3 trillion,” the EPA’s rule summary said.
Greenhouse gases and PM2.5
Matthew Mehalik is executive director of the Breathe Project, an advocacy group working to improve air quality and eliminate climate pollution in the region. He said that heavy burning of fossil fuels creates greenhouse gases and often co-emitted with pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), which cause immediate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
A Boston College study published in January linked PM2.5 and air pollution to 12.5% of Pittsburgh-area adult deaths.
“We have a state constitutional right for access to clean air,” Mehalik said.
Mehalik said air pollution can cause serious harm for residents who inhale air particulates or struggle with preexisting conditions such as asthma.
The lawsuit is led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Mehalik said the main issue was “the fact that you can’t regulate what you can’t measure.”
Industry reaction to the government’s decision has varied. As reported by Reuters, Ford Motor Co. has in the past supported keeping the finding in place “to ensure a stable regulatory environment.” In February, “Ford praised the administration for addressing the ‘imbalance between current emissions standards and customer choice’ but said it has advocated a single national emission standard instead of separate state standards.” The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association and lobbyist for the automobile industry, “did not endorse the Trump endangerment repeal but said ‘automotive emissions regulations finalized in the previous administration are extremely challenging for automakers to achieve given the current marketplace demand for EVs.’ ”
University of Pittsburgh Department of Geology and Environmental Science Biogeochemistry Professor Josef Werne said last year Allegheny County had its highest humidity levels and it’s due to greenhouse gases, heating up the air and impacting the climate.
“There is a lot of coal in our grid so [Pittsburgh] make a lot of greenhouse gases,” Werne said.
Werne said that the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere have begun to change Pennsylvania’s climate to mirror weather in Alabama as the state’s average temperatures change over time.
“Our gardening zone is changing,” Werne said.
Pennsylvania’s “gardening zone” refers to the type of crops and plants that can be grown in the climate. While Werne said the change will not impact larger farms much — because crops like corn and wheat can grow in a broader range of climates — it will impact people growing plants at home.