CA elected officials vow to fight EPA policies that reverse pollution laws

March 17, 2025

By Ramona Cornell du Houx

SACRAMENTO - Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks. The first item would potentially scrap a landmark 2009 finding by the US government that planet-heating gases, such carbon dioxide, pose a threat to human health.

The endangerment finding followed a major Supreme Court ruling that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gases. This is the underpinning for all rules aimed at cutting the pollution that scientists have unequivocally found is worsening the climate crisis. Scraping the Supreme Court decision would stop America’s ability to address the climate crisis through the courts.

In all, the EPA issued 31 announcements within just a few hours that take aim at almost every major environmental rule designed to protect Americans’ clean air and water, as well as a livable climate. The barrage included a move to overturn a Biden-era plan to slash pollution spewing from coal-fired power plants.

Exposure to particulate matter from fossil fuel emissions accounted for 18 percent of total global deaths in 2018.

“The environmental protection cuts along with the clean energy investment rollbacks — from the EPA to the executive orders of the president and more — will put the public health of millions at risk. Research shows that about 1 out of 5 American deaths are attributed to fossil fuel pollution. We at Elected Officials to Protect America have been working to stop this life threatening pollution with elected officials from every state,” said Dominic Frongillo, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Executive Director and Co-Founder. “Every American elected official takes an oath to protect the Constitution from domestic or foreign threats. The Trump administration can not legally take unilateral action to stop laws passed by Congress. It is the Conittnituaoal right of Congress to be able to weigh in on all the laws that were decided originally by them. EOPA believes in the rule of law and will defend these laws and the health of all the people they protect.”

Pollutants from power plants, highways and industry cause a range of heart, lung and other health problems, with greenhouse gases among this pollution driving up the global temperature and fueling catastrophic  heatwaves, floods, storms, fires, and other impacts.

Globally, an estimated 8.7 million deaths in 2018 were linked to air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, explains a study published in Environmental Research. According to this research, 34,000 people in California died in 2018 from fossil fuel air pollution prematurely.

“Too many in my community have died from fossil fuel pollution. Farm workers breathe in these toxins daily as many agricultural operations are adjacent to fossil fuel operations. The air is saturated with these particulates,” said Firebaugh Frm. Mayor, current Council Member Felipe Perez, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council. “With EOPA actions, Governor Newsom has finally stopped fracking and instituted safety setbacks from new oil and gas wells. But now we are faced with the Trump administration and his agencies working unilaterally to undo the fabric of the Clean Air and Water Acts. This is unconstitutional and we will do all we can to defend and protect our communities by standing with the rule of law.”

Californians painfully witnessed vast areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties burn in January 2025 from extreme weather conditions that caused the area to become a tinder box. The fires killed 29 people and burned over 18,000 structures, according to NBC News. 

Just 57 companies are responsible for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

“For too long, fossil fuel corporations have reaped enormous profits while knowingly lying about the catastrophic risks of their products. Putting profits over people is not and never should be the role of any American elected official, let alone a president. In California we stand united against these unconstitutional measures,” said Meghan Sahli-Wells, Frm. Mayor of Culver City, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Director. 

These companies rake in billions every year. Chevron, for example, put away $30 billion in profits in 2023. Meanwhile, California is facing a budget shortfall of $32 billion and growing after the L.A. fires.

“For too long, fossil fuel corporations have reaped enormous profits while knowingly lying about the catastrophic risks of their products. That’s why we need to start making Big Oil pay for the damages they’ve wrought with a California Superfund Law,” said Berkley Council Member Igor A. Tregub, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council Member. “There is an enormous body of evidence of the devastation caused by rising emissions, including trillions of dollars in economic costs. Putting profits over people is not and never should be the role of any federal agency or elected official. In California we stand united against these unconstitutional measures.” 

President Trump has called the climate crisis a “hoax.” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said, “we are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age.”

The unprecedented actions against pollution rules could, if upheld by the courts, reshape the environment in ways not seen since major legislation was passed in the 1970s to end an era of smoggy skies and burning waterways.  

“We will not go back to the days before the Clean Air Act. Gutting the EPA and attacking Justice40 areas and our economy by slashing the Inflation Reduction Act climate provisions only hurts and endangers the lives and livelihoods of the American people,” said Alex Walker-Griffin, Council Member Hercules, CA, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council Chair, National Guard. “This administration does not appear to care about public health. Deregulation helps polluting industries increase their profits without restrictions. It’s our duty as elected officials to protect our children from any unconstitutional actions. The rule of law must prevail.”

The EPA’s moves come shortly after its decision to close all its offices that deal with addressing the disproportionate burden of pollution faced by disadvantaged and environmental justice communities in the US, amid a mass firing of agency staff. The Justice40 initiative, started under President Biden, allocated 40 percent of new federal funding to be directed to help these communities grow economically while improving health outcomes.

“With the EPA regulations for clean air and water under threat by the same agency that is meant to protect disadvantaged and environmental justice communities, no one is safe. The nation faces a clear and present danger from needless pollution that kills and worsens the climate crisis,” said Daniel J. Ramos, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Adelanto, CA, Veteran.  “Our city and region is here to support the EOPA and its mission in protecting our lands and energy. Rolling back protections doesn’t save money; it shifts the burden to our communities and future generations. This isn’t about left or right, it’s about right or wrong.”

The Inflation Reduction Act (ACT) allocated close to $270 billion for climate reforms, initiatives and investments that were transforming the landscape and economy with clean energy technologies. Trump vowed to roll the IRA back and started the process on inauguration day with an executive order. This week organizations across America found the funding frozen. On March 12, the EPA instructed that $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act grants to help address the climate crisis, especially in Justice40 communities, be illegally halted.

The Trump administration has promised additional environmental rollbacks in the coming weeks.