STATEMENT: U.S. EPA Move to Reverse California’s Clean Air Act Waivers Plays Politics with Public Health

Washington, D.C. (July 24, 2026) - This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent two California Clean Air Act waiver approvals to Congress, seeking to overturn them via the Congressional Review Act. These waivers allow California to protect people living in the state's densely populated port regions from dangerous pollution emitted by ocean-going vessels at berth and commercial harbor craft.

Following is a statement from Sue Gander, Director, U.S. Transportation, World Resources Institute:

"The federal government's continued attacks on California's Clean Air Act waivers are playing politics with public health. Retaining these waivers would dramatically reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that pollute the air Californians breathe, while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

"The very agency created to protect public health is instead endangering it. In the process, it's undermining the regulatory certainty that businesses rely on and jeopardizing billions of dollars in investment in low- and zero-emission berthing and harbor operations."

• Darla Bijou van Hoorn

  Media Relations Manager

• Joe Versen

  Communication and Engagement Specialist, Electric School Bus Initiative, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities