"The lawsuit fights a White House proclamation exempting 50 chemical manufacturing plants from hard-won restrictions on cancer-causing pollutants."
"Frontline community groups teamed up with national environmental organizations Wednesday to sue the Trump administration for letting chemical manufacturing plants off the hook for toxic, carcinogenic air pollution.
The lawsuit targets an executive action from July that gave 50 plants a two-year exemption from a Biden-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that tightened restrictions on cancer-causing air toxics like ethylene oxide and chloroprene. After years of fierce grassroots advocacy from communities harmed by chemical plants, the EPA enacted the 2024 HON rule—Hazardous Organic NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants)—and projected that it would reduce air pollution-related risks for communities living near these facilities by about 96 percent while cutting the industry’s emissions by more than 6,200 tons annually.
The plaintiffs—which include Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Concerned Citizens of St. John and RISE St. James—say President Donald Trump’s exemption is unlawful and will increase health risks for communities in Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Illinois and other states."
Keerti Gopal reports for Inside Climate News October 22, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"Green Groups Sue Over Trump’s Clean Air Act Exemptions For Polluters" (The Hill)
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