WASHINGTON (March 12, 2025) — The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday has reportedly directed the closure of all its offices focused on addressing legacy and ongoing pollution in low-income and historically marginalized and disadvantaged communities.
Below is a statement from Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Scientific data shows that, due to historical and ongoing injustices, low-income, Black, Brown and Indigenous communities face disproportionate public health and environmental burdens from dangerous pollution in the United States. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has ended decades of work intended to help set right that harmful legacy, proving yet again that President Trump and his allies have no regard for the well-being of people living in America and care only about protecting the profits of polluters. This abhorrent move will leave those living, working, studying, and playing near polluting industries, smog-forming traffic, and contaminated waterways and soil, with little support from the very agency they rely on to enforce protective laws. Exposure to consistently higher levels of pollution increases the risk of asthma, heart and lung ailments, cancer and even death. This is yet another shameful dereliction of the EPA’s mission to protect public health, and another hit to communities that, despite a lack of resources, have persevered courageously in the fight against powerful, deep-pocketed and corrupt industries and politicians. With this move, it is clear that Lee Zeldin is doing the bidding of unelected billionaire Elon Musk, rather than living up to his promise to protect human health and the environment.”