Trust for America’s Health Statement on Supreme Court stay of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Washington, D.C., February 9, 2016 – The following is a statement from Richard Hamburg, interim president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stay implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Power Plan pending final legal resolution.

“Tonight’s decision by the Supreme Court to stay the EPA’s Clean Power Plan pending resolution of ongoing litigation is extremely disappointing. The Supreme Court has already previously ruled in favor of EPA’s endangerment finding that carbon pollution poses a threat to human health and therefore is subject to the federal bipartisan Clean Air Act. TFAH believes the Clean Power Plan as proposed and finalized by the EPA, in close consultation via the rulemaking process with the general public and all affected stakeholders, is on a firm legal foundation.

Climate change poses serious public health concerns — from natural disasters to reduced water resources to new insect-based infectious diseases associated with higher temperatures to worsening air quality to the effects of the extreme weather we’ve seen across the country over the past several years.  Further unnecessary delay of the Clean Power Plan will only exacerbate the dangerous public health challenges we face as a nation.”