Sierra Club Releases Nearly 1,000 New Emails from Trump’s EPA

Washington, DC - As the Trump administration continues to undo federal regulations that protect our air and water, including proposals to eliminate standards for vehicle emissions and revoke the 2009 endangerment finding, the Sierra Club today released 952 pages of emails between EPA officials and external organizations provided in response to the environmental organization's Freedom of Information Act request.

VIEW THE EMAILS HERE

This is the latest release of records from the EPA in response to the Sierra Club's FOIA requeston February 27, which sought communications between various leaders at the EPA and external organizations and lobbyists. The newly released emails discuss issues from vehicle emission waivers, industry attempts to defeat Sierra Club initiatives to protect the environment and consumers, and matters regarding PFAS and PFOA protections, among others.

"These records provide a look behind the curtain of the Trump and Zeldin EPA, and in them you see corporate polluters, industry coalitions, and their lobbyists-from automobile companies to chemical manufacturers-lining up to urge the agency to roll back protections that save lives, protect our air and water, and save consumers money," said Andrea Issod, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program."Since its creation, the EPA's charge has been to protect public health and the environment. The more we see from this agency-from its public announcements to internal considerations-the more our concern for the health of our people and planet grows. We'll continue to do all we can to uncover these communications and keep the public informed on who has the ear of the EPA and how they're influencing the decisions being made."

The records include correspondences with automakers and industry groups specifically seeking action to undo California's waiver policy which sought to reduce vehicle emissions-shortly before Congress nullified the waivers through the Congressional Review Act in June.

In particular, Toyota sought a meeting with Administrator Lee Zeldin in early February (pp. 230-231) specifically to discuss the California waivers and tailpipe pollution standards set by the Biden Administration. A senior executive with Ford also met with officials at the EPA, with a senior official at the agency saying that, "Although I am recused from Ford issues, you always have a friend here." (pp. 750-752)

Elsewhere, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers coordinated a sign-on letter in support of the nullification of the waivers, shared directly with the head of the EPA's Office of Public Engagement (pp. 104-111). Likewise, the emails reveal meeting requests submitted by the American Gas Association to "discuss critical energy priorities with the new Administration" in early February (pp. 25-27).

The email records also include multiple communications regarding PFAS and PFOA issues and recommendations to roll back or reconsider protections implemented by the Biden administration, including emails from chemical company Chemours seeking resolution of an issue with dangerous discharges at the company's Washington Works plant in West Virginia (pp. 137-198), correspondence from the US Chamber of Commerce on behalf of multiple industry associations and businesses (pp. 678-684), emails from industry trade groups and members of the paper and pulp industry (pp. 756-787), and documents from the American Chemistry Council (pp. 841, 874-877).

The Sierra Club requested these communications shortly after Administrator Zeldin was confirmed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in anticipation that he would use the agency to benefit polluters. Sure enough, since then, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rolling back the 2009 endangerment finding, eliminated its Office of Research and Development, and cancelled more than $20 billion in awards for clean energy projects. These Freedom of Information Act requests are helping to bring transparency and accountability to the work that the Trump administration is doing on behalf of the country's most dangerous polluters.

The Sierra Club also expects to receive additional batches of emails and records from other agencies, including the Department of Energy and Department of the Department of Energy and Department of Interior, in the days and weeks ahead.

Additional Information
The Sierra Club has also filed lawsuits against the Department of Transportationfor withholding records on their unlawful funding freeze and external communications records; the Department of Energyfor failing to respond to FOIA requests for external communications records; the Office of Management and Budgetfor failing to respond to three Freedom of Information Act requests which seek OMB's records and communications related to freezing Congressionally appropriated funding and communications between key OMB and DOGE staff with external parties; and the Department of the Interiorfor failing to respond to requests on external communications for key Interior staff, including Secretary Doug Burgum, acting assistant secretaries, and designated DOGE staff.

The Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program has filed numerous FOIA requests throughout the current Trump Administration, receiving documents about funding freezes, agency terminations and vacancies of critical staff, as well as companies requesting presidential exemptions to avoid air pollution regulations.

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.