Washington, D.C. — In response to the EPA’s announcement that the agency will suspend enforcement of environmental safeguards, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Legislative Director and former EPA Health Scientist Matthew H. Davis:

“In the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, Trump’s EPA has abdicated its responsibility to protect our health and is instead turning a blind eye to industries potentially spewing more toxic pollution into our air and water, putting our families at further risk.  This clear giveaway to corporate polluters for an indefinite period of time will only make public health worse, especially for the low income communities and communities of color suffering the most from toxic pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic. The EPA should instead issue narrow changes in guidance to ensure the agency and industries can follow CDC physical distancing guidelines and protect the public from toxic pollution only for as long as absolutely necessary for flattening the curve of disease transmission. While most peoples’ focus is on the crisis and their lives are upended, the Trump administration’s favor factory is running overtime, putting polluters over people with breathtaking frequency, breadth, and speed.”

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