Northwest Indiana residents and environmental activists are disappointed by recently announced possible air pollution exemptions, but they’re not surprised.
“This impacts everybody, and we’re going to feel this from a public health standpoint,” said Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana. “This is a really frightening concept. Not only are the guardrails off, but it seems the red carpet has been unrolled to pollute at will.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is helping corporations apply for presidential exemptions to sections of the Clean Air Act, which is to advance President Donald Trump’s executive orders, according to the EPA’s website.
Presidential exemption requests could be submitted by March 31.
“The Clean Air Act allows the President to exempt stationary sources of air pollution from compliance with any standard or limitation under section 112 for up to two years if the technology to implement the standard is not available and it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so,” EPA’s website says. “Submitting a request via this email box does not entitle the submitter to an exemption. The President will make a decision on the merits.”
Exemptions can be extended for up to two additional years and can be renewed.
An analysis provided by the Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Law and Policy Center showed that more than 500 facilities in 45 states were invited to apply for exemptions.
In Northwest Indiana, Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel facilities were included. Cleveland-Cliffs did not respond to a request for comment, and U.S. Steel declined to comment.
Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said the Trump administration is offering corporations a “get out of jail free card.”
“The Clean Air Act was passed by Congress, and it is broadly supported by the public,” Learner said. “Everybody wants healthier, clean air to breathe. The Trump EPA simply lacks authority to create an exemption or hall pass for an industrial polluter from the requirements of the Clean Air Act.”
Learner encourages companies like Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel to do what they can to reduce pollution, especially because the companies are a vital part of the Northwest Indiana economy.
Various environmental groups have filed Freedom of Information Act requests for all records related to EPA’s website and Zeldin’s invitation to apply for exemptions.
“The public is entitled to transparency here,” Learner said. “If (corporations) are not seeking an exemption, they should have no problem saying publicly that they will not seek an exemption. And if they are, they need to explain why to the public.”
Thomas encourages residents to stick together and advocate for more transparency. She encourages people to reach out to representatives or companies for more information.
“I would express concerns and vociferously express objections and tell them how this impacts you,” Thomas said.
Allan Halline, an Ogden Dunes resident and gastroenterologist, said he’s worried to see how community health will be impacted if corporations receive exemptions.
“What underscores me as a concern is that we don’t know enough about what the effects are,” Halline said. “We know that air pollution affects asthma, emphysema and can cause lung cases, but it causes a host of other problems as well.”
Halline is also a member of the Gary Advocates for Responsible Development’s green steel committee.
An October report from Industrious Labs found that most residents in Gary are in the top 10% of U.S. residents most at-risk for developing asthma and at-risk of low life expectancy. In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state’s counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
A 2016 JAMA Network report also found Gary as one of the top five U.S. cities with the lowest life expectancy at one point.
Incidence rates of colon cancer are higher in disadvantaged communities, where residents are exposed to higher pollution rates, Halline said. He believes communities won’t see health effects of exemptions for years to come.
“We’re not asking them to shut down, but we are asking them to be as responsible as they can to reduce their emissions,” Halline said.
Dorreen Carey, president of GARD, said she expected to see regulations rolled back under the Trump administration, but not to this extent.
“It’s not even as if (corporations are asking) on their own,” Carey said. “They are being invited to get a two-year exemption from having to conform to these rules.”
Carey is worried about how Gary will be impacted if Northwest Indiana organizations receive exemptions. She’s concerned that new development might not come to the city if pollution is worse.
Now, Carey said it’s important for local organizations and residents to work together to put pressure on local businesses to be good neighbors.
“I think the way we will be most effective is to organize ourselves into larger groups of people,” Carey said. “We have organized groups, and we need to get those groups more involved in recognizing the damage that is being done to our community by unregulated pollutants.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
