“Good Neighbor” Rule Will Cut Downwind Pollution
A new “good neighbor” rule will cut air pollution harming the health of downwind states and communities. The rule takes effect in May for emissions from power plants, and in 2026 for other industrial plants.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that the rule will save thousands of lives, avoid tens of thousands of trips to hospital emergency rooms, prevent millions of asthma attacks, and cut sick days lost to related health problems. “Every community deserves fresh air to breathe. We know air pollution doesn’t stop at the state line,″ said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The rule will “lock in significant pollution reductions to ensure cleaner air and deliver public health protections for those who’ve suffered far too long from air-quality related impacts and illness.”
“We’re thrilled to see Administrator Regan reverse detrimental Trump policy and deliver this important win for our children and families who deserve to breathe clean, healthy air. With the Good Neighbor rule in place, we can expect to see health benefits later this year and up to $15 billion in total public health benefits each year going forward, and prevention of over 1,000 premature deaths and at least one million asthma attacks per year by 2026,” said League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Senior Director of Government Affairs Matthew Davis. “The final rule underscores the EPA’s important role as a federal backstop when states do not fulfill their responsibilities to protect communities from fossil fuel-burning power and industrial facilities. Paired with the administration’s historic affordable clean energy plan and continued executive action on climate, the Good Neighbor Plan is a critical part of advancing environmental justice for communities of color disproportionately exposed to fossil fuel pollution and our transition to a healthy clean energy future.”
This latest strengthening of interstate air pollution controls builds on the work of decades past, including North Carolina’s landmark Clean Smokestacks Act of 2002.
