Washington - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) issued the following statement regarding today's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the TRAIN Act by a vote of 249-169. The bill would gut the Clean Air Act (CAA) by blocking the EPA's ability to enforce the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard as well as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, both of which serve to limit the public's exposure to harmful air pollution. These two rules would save billions in health costs annually and protect the public from life threatening toxins.
"This attack on the Clean Air Act is an attack on New Jersey and drives a TRAIN through public health protections," said Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). "We cannot afford policies that put the interests of antiquated, out of state coal power plants ahead of the public health of New Jerseyans. It is high time all our leaders realize that pollution does not create jobs -- it creates sick people, higher medical bills, lost days of work, and is a drag on our economy."
If allowed to go forward, the two EPA rules in question would prevent 3209 premature deaths in New Jersey in 2015 according to EPA analysis. [EPA, Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, (CSAPR), and EPA, Technical Support Document: "Analysis of State and County-Level PM2.5 Benefits." Note: Mortality estimates are from the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule (MATR), and for the eastern U.S., also include mortality benefits from CSAPR.]
###
