HOUSTON, TX – With utmost shock, we are witnessing the dismantling of long-standing environmental protections designed to safeguard public health, regulations founded on sound data and science that the new EPA administration is rolling back to favor the interests of the fossil fuel industry.

For example, the new more protective standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5 – one of the most concerning air pollutants for health – was estimated by the US EPA to prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost work days, yielding up to $46 billion in net health benefits by 2032. This new rule would have protected thousands of Texans from asthma attacks, cardiac events, and premature death.

The updated “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention,” or Risk Management Plan Rule, would have improved safety at petrochemical facilities to the extent that another ITC-level disaster would be avoided.

Now, these protections may be gone.

Fenceline communities already overburdened by environmental exposures will bear the brunt of this catastrophic shift in policy. Despite what the administration says, the move has no demonstrated purpose than to keep industry profiting at the expense of vulnerable people. What happened to EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment?

We, the undersigned, will never abandon the goal of clean air, water, and land for all Houstonians, and we are more committed than ever to working with and for our communities toward this aim. We urge the EPA to reconsider these roll-backs for the sake of the long-term health and safety of our nation.