Washington, D.C. – In response to EPA finalizing a tightened annual standard for the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (or PM2.5 NAAQS), the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and Chispa released the following statements:

“We applaud the Biden-Harris administration’s new, tougher annual standard to cut deadly soot pollution and build a more clean and equitable energy future,” said LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis. “For the second time in just two weeks, President Biden and his administration is delivering big for environmental justice, public health, climate, and science. Communities of color and low wealth communities too often experience disproportionate health impacts and environmental injustices due to exposure to soot pollution from Big Polluters and heavy traffic. While we still need to strengthen the daily standard for soot, cutting the annual standard by a quarter is a significant step forward. The administration must swiftly work with states and local air districts to implement these much improved standards.”

***

“Our communities depend on the strongest federal protections against toxic pollution for the health of our air and our communities,” said Chispa National Senior Director Estefany Carrasco-Gonzalez. “Our children and our families have the right to breathe clean air free from soot pollution and for Big Polluters to be held to higher standards. These finalized standards for soot must be implemented quickly by the Biden-Harris administration, and EPA must continue to strive for the strongest federal standards to address environmental injustice for all communities across the country.”

###