Testimony of SELC Air Program Leader Keri Powell before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Clean Air Act permitting reform

WASHINGTON – Today Southern Environmental Law Center Air Program Leader and Senior Attorney Keri Powell testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee at a legislative hearing on several bills proposing Clean Air Act permitting reform that would further strip away EPA oversight, silence the voices of impacted communities, and create a dangerous pay-to-play loophole for polluters.

The bills under consideration include proposals to eliminate the New Source Review program for facilities seeking to expand without proper pollution controls, reduce incentives for states to achieve healthy air quality, and exempt highly polluting facilities from adhering to National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

In spoken and written testimony in the hearing “From Gridlock to Growth: Permitting Reform Under the Clean Air Act,” Powell pointed to the myriad public health and economic benefits for communities as a result of Clean Air Act protections, including in the form of avoided medical expenses, fewer missed workdays, and longer, healthier lives. Powell also cited the importance of robust permitting requirements and clear implementation guidelines for state and local agencies without confusing industry loopholes proposed by the legislation that would put the health of surrounding communities at risk.

“The Clean Air Act, at its core, is a public health law,” said Keri Powell, Air Program Leader and Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The genius of the Clean Air Act is that it replaced political discretion with clear, science-based guardrails. That certainty has been good for communities and good for industry. Weakening these safeguards would only create more confusion, more lawsuits, and more delay.

“When we protect public health, we strengthen our economy. Workers who are not in the hospital are on the job. Children who are not struggling to breathe are in school, learning and preparing for the future. Clean Air safeguards are not barriers to growth; they are the foundation for it.”

Keri Powell’s full testimony