Connecticut Delegation Demands EPA Withdraw Proposal to Gut Critical Health and Safety Protections

Hartford, CT - Today, the Connecticut Congressional delegationsent a letterto Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin urging him to withdraw his proposal rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding that determined greenhouse gas emissions pose a serious risk to Americans' health and well-being.

"Climate change is a significant threat to Connecticut, and our residents are already feeling its effects in the forms of sea level rise and extreme weather…Over the last 15 years, Connecticut has been impacted by 24 'billion-dollar' disasters. In the absence of an endangerment finding that allows EPA to take commonsense steps to protect against climate change, disasters like those we have experienced in Connecticut will only continue to grow in scope and severity," the delegation wrote.

In late July, the EPA announced a proposal to rescind the landmark endangerment finding - a 2009 rule that found greenhouse gases and air pollution cause harm to human health and our climate. The finding allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The 2009 finding is widely accepted science and is a key tool for reducing pollution.

According to a September report from Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, transportation related climate pollution declined in 2023. While this is encouraging news, the Trump Administration's efforts to roll back the endangerment finding could jeopardize this progress.

"Rescinding the endangerment finding does not change the facts- climate change threatens lives. If you follow through with this rulemaking, EPA will be walking away from its fundamental duty to protect human health and the environment, and the people of Connecticut and the country will be more vulnerable than ever to climate change's deadly and costly effects. We strongly urge you to keep the endangerment finding in place and stand on the side of people and the planet - not polluters," the delegation wrote.

The letter is signed by Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05), and Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy.

The full text of the delegation's letter can be found HEREand below:

Dear Administrator Zeldin,

We write to express our profound concern over the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to reconsider the 2009 endangerment finding and demand that you withdraw the proposed rule immediately. Dismantling the life-saving determination will have dire long-term consequences for the people of Connecticut and our nation, especially our children and grandchildren.

The EPA's endangerment finding is the agency's scientifically-backed determination that greenhouse gas emissions pose a risk to peoples' health and wellbeing. Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, this determination requires the EPA to regulate these emissions to protect people from the dangerous impacts. The endangerment finding underpins longstanding, commonsense measures the EPA has enacted to address climate change. Rescinding the agency's determination does nothing to change the fact that climate change harms human health, and this action will put lives at risk.

Climate change is a significant threat to Connecticut, and our residents are already feeling its effects in the forms of sea level rise and extreme weather. Sixty-one percent of our state's population lives in coastal communities, and Long Island Sound is expected to rise 1.5 feet by 2050, further exacerbating the risk of floods and deadly storm surges. Just last year, flash flooding in Northwestern Connecticut tragically took two lives while causing millions of dollars in damage to homes, businesses, roads, and bridges. Over the last 15 years, Connecticut has been impacted by twenty-four "billion-dollar" disasters. In the absence of an endangerment finding that allows EPA to take commonsense steps to protect against climate change, disasters like those we have experienced in Connecticut will only continue to grow in scope and severity.

Connecticut also suffers from some of the worst air quality in the country, an issue only exacerbated by climate change. Poor air quality is a profound public health risk, especially to young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory diseases. Last year, three of Connecticut's cities-Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport-were all included in the top 100 most challenging cities in the country to live in with asthma. Just last year, Fairfield County recorded over 20 unhealthy air quality days, making it the worst county in the New York City Metro area for smog. The consequences for bad air quality add up. They mean more hospital visits and associated healthcare costs, more missed school and workdays, and ultimately, more premature deaths. Undermining commonsense efforts to combat climate change at the federal level will only exacerbate the challenges Connecticut faces from air pollution.

Rescinding the endangerment finding does not change the facts- climate change threatens lives. If you follow through with this rulemaking, EPA will be walking away from its fundamental duty to protect human health and the environment, and the people of Connecticut and the country will be more vulnerable than ever to climate change's deadly and costly effects. We strongly urge you to keep the endangerment finding in place and stand on the side of people and the planet - not polluters.

Thank you for your attention to this critically important matter.