Houston-area leaders fight EPA move to end climate finding

Harris County has joined a group of state and local governments in asking a federal appeals court to review the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to rescind the 2009 greenhouse gas "endangerment finding." Local officials say the decision could make pollution and health risks worse in the Houston area.

The petition, which was filed on Thursday, asks a U.S. appeals court to consider whether the federal government violated the law when it eliminated what has traditionally served as the legal basis for controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2009 endangerment finding found that emissions that warm the climate are harmful to people's health and well-being, requiring the federal government to follow existing environmental regulations. Taking it away would mean a big change in national climate policy and might hurt air quality standards in places like Houston where there are a lot of factories.

Harris County is one of just three counties to sign the petition, which also has dozens of other governments from Arizona to Vermont.

Jonathan Fombonne, the county attorney, said that the rollback goes against what scientists have long agreed on and the effects of climate change in the real world. Fombonne added, "Ignoring science does not make risk go away." He went on to say, "Taking away the federal government's power to control greenhouse gas emissions ignores both established science and the effects of climate change in the real world." It also weakens important defenses that help lower the risk of asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, and other major health problems.

President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin both tried to remove the conclusion, which led to the legal challenge. On the first day of his second administration, Trump told the EPA to look into the 2009 rule's "legality and continuing applicability." On February 12, the government said it would proceed with eliminating the findings and greenhouse gas emission requirements for cars and trucks.

"This crazy rule became the legal basis for the Green New Scam, which is one of the biggest scams in history," Trump remarked when he made the announcement. "Starting now, we are getting rid of the silly endangerment finding and all the extra green emission standards that were unfairly put on vehicle models and engines from 2012 to 2027 and beyond." The repeal will save American consumers trillions of dollars.

Officials in Harris County fear that the policy change might hurt towns that are already dealing with high levels of pollution more than others.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis said that some of the most contaminated neighborhoods in the country are in his district. Ellis said, "Many Black and Brown, working-class neighborhoods in my precinct are among the most polluted in the country, which has a measurable effect on life expectancy and quality of life." He said that the pullback "would put these vulnerable communities, like Settegast, at even greater risk."

The lawsuit is now going to a federal appeals court, where justices will decide if the EPA's actions are in line with current environmental law.