President Donald Trump’s administration will end decades of federal efforts to combat pollution affecting disadvantaged populations across the United States, the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday March 12.
Lee Zeldin, at the head of the EPA, confirmed the decision to close services responsible for environmental justice missions within the agency, which had been revealed at first by the New York Times. “The problem is that in the name of environmental justice, fortunes were sent to left -wing militant groups”he justified before journalists, ensuring working on the advent of“A golden age” For “All Americans”.
These closures put an end to three decades of efforts to try to reduce pollution affecting the disadvantaged populations of the country. The latter often resident near motorways, power plants, factories or other polluting installations, and are more likely to develop heart disease or asthma.
“Odious decision”
“President Trump and his allies have no consideration for the well-being of people living in America and only care to protect the profits of polluters”reacted Chitra Kumar on Wednesday, the Union of Concluded Environmental NGO. “This odious decision will leave people who live, work, study and play near polluting industries (…) Without real support “she alerted.
The new US government had already ended an environmental justice plan set up by former Democratic President Joe Biden who aimed to allocate 40 % of federal investments in the energy transition to historically marginalized populations. And Lee Zeldin announced earlier this week to remove $ 1.7 billion from subsidies dedicated to initiatives in favor of environmental justice.
Last week, the new Ministry of Justice also announced the abandonment of the proceedings initiated by EPA against a factory installed in Louisiana in an area nicknamed the “Cancer corridor”. In this region rich in petrochemical industries, cancer rates among residents are among the highest in the country.