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Community Access to Clean Air Decisionmaking
The report finds that while most US states meet the minimum legal requirements for Title V air permitting notices, there are substantial gaps in transparency, accessibility, and the actual influence of public input on final decisions. It highlights that many public notices are written at a college reading level and lack plain language, and that few agencies transparently report how public comments shape permit outcomes. The analysis suggests that states with specific environmental justice or cumulative impacts laws tend to have better engagement practices. It recommends that agencies adopt plain language, provide multilingual resources, and establish clear mechanisms for reporting how community input affects regulatory decisions.
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Document type: Report
State Level Climate Security: Ohio
Ohio is experiencing an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme precipitation, flooding, heat, and drought, with natural disaster costs reaching $2 to $5 billion in the first half of 2026. These hazards are compounded by aging infrastructure, including high-hazard dams and levees, and a legacy of industrial pollution from Superfund sites. The state's energy grid is under strain from extreme heat and surging demand from over 200 data centers, while state policy continues to favor fossil fuels and obstruct renewable energy development. Key military assets, such as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, face significant flood and wildfire risks. While Ohio lacks a comprehensive statewide climate governance framework, some progress has been made through municipal adaptation plans and significant support from federal agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and the EPA.
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Document type: Report
Statement on the EPA's Final Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants
GreenLatinos opposes the EPA's repeal of carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants, stating that the rollback prioritizes fossil fuel profits over the health of Latino and working-class communities. The organization notes that the repealed standards were projected to prevent 1,200 premature deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in 2035. GreenLatinos highlights that Latino households face median energy costs 24% higher than white households and that 1.6 million Hispanics live within a half mile of oil and gas wells.
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Document type: Statement
Gracias Camioneros
GreenLatinos highlights the health risks faced by truck drivers and nearby communities due to diesel exhaust, noting that Latinos make up nearly 25% of the workforce. The statement criticizes the EPA for rolling back truck pollution standards and calls on the American Trucking Association and vehicle manufacturers to prioritize zero-emission technology and driver well-being over lobbying against health standards.
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Document type: Statement
Unfinished Business
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 92 public comments submitted to the US EPA regarding its November 2024 Cumulative Impacts Framework. This process involved five coders who identified five primary themes and subthemes, utilizing NVivo software and Gwet’s AC1 scores to ensure inter-rater reliability. To validate these findings, UCS held four virtual 'ground-truthing' convenings between February and May 2026 with 18 experts and community members. The analysis was prompted by the second Trump administration's actions since January 2025, which the report states have undermined the EPA's ability to use the Framework and ignored public comments.
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Document type: Report
Unfinished Business
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reviewed 107 unique documents from 2,984 public comments regarding the EPA's 2024 Cumulative Impacts (CI) Framework. The analysis identifies five core themes for a robust CI program: legal authority, program execution, community engagement, assessment methodology, and ensuring outcomes. The report notes that the second Trump administration has undermined these efforts by rescinding environmental justice executive orders, disbanding advisory councils, and eliminating the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
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Document type: Report
Story Spark: Wildfire Smoke
The document outlines the health risks of wildfire smoke, specifically PM2.5 particulates, and provides guidance for reporters on highlighting vulnerable populations and using tools like the Air Quality Index (AQI). It notes that wildfire smoke can be up to 10 times more harmful in the short term than industrial pollutants and cites a study estimating 70,000 annual deaths in the US by 2050.
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Document type: Guide
110 years later, Latinos still among biggest supporters of the National Park Service
The document presents seven facts regarding the National Park Service (NPS) and its connection to Hispanic/Latino populations. It notes a significant underrepresentation of Latinos in the NPS workforce and leadership compared to their share of the U.S. population. It highlights historical figures like George Meléndez Wright and sites such as Chicano Park and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The text also expresses concern over the removal of permanent workers since January 2025, the exclusion of U.S. territories from public surveys, and proposed mineral withdrawals in the Greater Chaco region.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Enduring Federal Obligations to Account for Environmental Justice
The document asserts that the second Trump Administration's efforts to eliminate environmental justice (EJ) analyses do not override existing legal obligations. It highlights that agencies may still be required to consider EJ impacts under specific statutory provisions, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Furthermore, it argues that race-neutral EJ analyses, such as those focusing on economically disadvantaged communities, remain legally viable under the Equal Protection Clause, contrary to administration claims following the Loper Bright decision.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Justice Imperiled: Assessing the Legal Arguments for the Trump Administration’s Assault on Federal Environmental Justice Programs
The report examines the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle environmental justice initiatives, arguing that the legal justifications for these rollbacks are weak. It specifically addresses the impact of Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action, asserting that while such decisions impose constraints, they do not make environmental justice initiatives categorically unlawful nor prevent the government from considering the historical legacies of racism.
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Document type: Report
OBJECTIONS: ARCELORMITTAL SOUTH AFRICA APPLICATION FOR ALTERNATIVE SO2 MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS LIMIT AT DIRECT REDUCTION KILNS, ARCELORMITTAL VANDERBIJLPARK WORKS, GAUTENG PROVINCE
The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting for the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), submitted formal objections to ArcelorMittal South Africa's (AMSA) application for an alternative SO2 emission limit at its Vanderbijlpark Works. The objections argue that granting a limit of 1,500 mg/Nm³—three times the legal standard of 500 mg/Nm³—would violate constitutional rights to a healthy environment, ignore the conversion of SO2 into dangerous particulate matter (PM), and prioritize corporate cost-savings over public health in a known pollution hotspot.
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Document type: Statement
Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics and Policy
A survey of 930 registered U.S. voters shows broad support for climate action, with 58% preferring candidates who support global warming action and 68% favoring increased renewable energy use. While 67% believe global warming affects the U.S. cost of living—particularly utility bills (66%) and groceries (61%)—there is significant political divergence on the responsibility for gas prices and the priority of clean energy. Trust in information remains highest for climate scientists (71%) and family and friends (69%), while 58% of voters oppose the construction of local data centers due to concerns over electricity costs.
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Document type: Fact sheet
From Belém to Bonn: Why International Climate Spaces Matter for Latino Communities
GreenLatinos asserts that international climate spaces, such as UN COPs and specialized conferences, are critical for shaping policies and funding that affect Latino communities. The organization highlights the importance of the Belém–Antalya Mechanism and the Santa Marta Fossil Fuel Phaseout Conference in building momentum for a just transition and fossil fuel phaseout, while criticizing the lack of U.S. federal leadership under the Trump Administration.
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Document type: Statement
Deep Pockets, Dirty Profits
The report finds that between 2019 and 2025, 240 global banks provided US$590.8 billion to the top fifteen petrochemical companies, with a high concentration of funding from US, Japanese, Chinese, German, and UK institutions. Institutional investors held US$146.6 billion in exposure to these companies as of September 2025, dominated by US-based asset managers like Vanguard and BlackRock. The document argues that this financing persists despite structural risks such as overcapacity and collapsing profit margins, and often contradicts the public climate commitments of the financial institutions involved.
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Document type: Policy brief
Case study report on rights of rivers in practice in Bangladesh and Colombia
The report finds that granting legal personhood to rivers is a symbolic starting point that often fails to produce material ecological recovery due to fragmented governance, anthropocentric interpretations, and the marginalization of local knowledge. In Bangladesh, a state-led guardianship model lacks enforcement power and community representation, while Colombia's shared guardianship model incorporates biocultural knowledge but remains constrained by financial limitations and sectoral fragmentation.
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Document type: Case study
Counter/Act
Earthjustice's Counter/Act report details its multifaceted legal and advocacy response to the second Trump administration's environmental policy rollbacks. The organization has scaled up litigation, launched a dedicated enforcement team to fill gaps in federal oversight, and shifted focus toward state-level protections for clean energy and public health. Key achievements include defending electric vehicle infrastructure, challenging the repeal of the endangerment finding, and securing state-level wins on landfill emissions in Colorado and environmental justice laws in New Jersey.
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Document type: Report
Toxic Inequality: Latine Communities Face Rising Air Pollution
The document highlights the systemic environmental inequality facing Latino communities in the U.S., who are nearly three times more likely than white communities to live in areas with the worst air pollution. It identifies fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone as primary threats, exacerbated by methane emissions and wildfire smoke. The text warns that rollbacks of EPA protections, including the dismantling of the Good Neighbor Rule and the erasure of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, threaten public health. It concludes by demanding enforceable air quality standards, investments in green infrastructure, and a transition to renewable energy.
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Document type: Statement
COMMENTS OF UTAH PHYSICIANS FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT, AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON, CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES AGAINST TOXICS, COALITION FOR A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY IN-POWER AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, THE COMING CLEAN NETWORK, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HEALTH ALLIANCE FOR CHEMICAL POLICY REFORM, MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE, SIERRA CLUB, TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY SERVICES, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, AND EARTHJUSTICE
The document argues that the EPA's 2026 proposed rule to weaken the Risk Management Program (RMP) is unlawful, arbitrary, and contrary to the Clean Air Act's mandate to prevent accidental chemical releases. The commenters contend that the proposal prioritizes industry cost savings and deregulatory executive orders over public health and safety, specifically threatening vulnerable populations and children. They call for the full implementation of the 2024 SCCAP Rule, the restoration of the RMP Public Data Tool, and the retention of critical safety requirements including safer technology analyses, third-party audits, and natural hazard planning.
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Document type: Statement
Zeldin Said He’d Protect Clean Air and Water. The EPA Budget He Brought To Congress Tells a Different Story.
The statement contends that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has overseen a period of significant deregulation and funding cuts that undermine public health and environmental protection. It highlights the removal of human life valuation from air pollution analyses, the cancellation of $22 billion in environmental justice grants, and a 90 percent budget cut to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund despite PFAS reduction being listed as a priority. The author asserts that these actions, alongside the dismantling of the Office of Research and Development and a 52 percent overall budget cut, prioritize industry interests over scientific integrity and community health.
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Document type: Statement
Electrification with Equity 2 | Union of Concerned Scientists
The executive summary advocates for local 'behind-the-meter' solar and storage in Massachusetts as a means to protect environmental justice (EJ) communities from the health and financial burdens of gas-fired power plants and extreme weather. It notes that over 80 percent of the state's polluting power plants are located in or near EJ neighborhoods and proposes 18 recommendations to scale these clean energy solutions.
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Document type: Executive summary