Press Releases

WASHINGTON - Today, Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, along with Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, issued the following joint statement on the announced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final rule that updates and strengthens the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (PM 2.5), also known as soot pollution. 

“Last year, we sent a letter to Administrator Regan urging the EPA to strengthen this Particulate Matter standard to reduce harmful emissions, clean up our air, and save lives. The final standard announced today is a big step forward for public health and environmental justice. It will improve air quality from coast to coast and start to address historic inequities and injustices, including cleaning up the air in communities of color, fenceline communities, and lower-income areas disproportionately burdened by pollution. By issuing this stronger soot pollution standard, the Biden Administration is taking an important step forward to clean up our air and protect public health. 

“While we celebrate the positive impact the new soot pollution standard will have on people across the country, we will continue to push for additional safeguards that will cut pollution and protect public health.”

In March of 2023, Blunt Rochester, along with Barrágan and Markey, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging the agency to strengthen air quality standards for fine particle pollution, one of the most widespread and health-threatening air pollutants affecting the health of communities across the country. According to the EPA, this updated rule will save lives and improve public health — preventing up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, yielding up to $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032.

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