“SAVE EPA”: ELECTED OFFICIALS AND GROUPS CALL OUT HOW TRUMP’S PLANS TO GUT THE EPA WILL HARM PENNSYLVANIA’S HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
PHILADELPHIA, PA (June 16, 2025) Today, local officials and health and environmental groups joined in Love Park to express their “love” for EPA and how its protections for Pennsylvanians must be saved. The EPA’s core mission is to protect the American people and their communities from dangerous and deadly pollution – instead, through rolling back and attacking pollution protections, Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin are putting polluters over people, and putting Pennsylvanians at more risk. Speakers addressed the importance of a strong EPA for healthy kids, clean air, safe drinking water, and a more stable climate. They also rallied Congress to protect Americans from dangerous pollution by ensuring we have scientists and public health experts working at a strong EPA and by providing appropriate funding for EPA’s critical work to protect our health and environment.
“When the EPA was first envisioned, the air in many of our cities and industrial hubs here in Pennsylvania was thick with dangerous and often deadly particles, a smog emitted by corporations that reaped astronomical profits as they poisoned our neighbors and toxified our lands,” said Senator Nikil Saval, Pennsylvania’s First Senatorial District. “The dedicated workers at the EPA—the scientists and public health experts whose labor has saved millions of lives and trillions of dollars since the EPA was created—changed this. These workers hold the line against powerful corporations that prioritize the wealth of their CEOs over our lives. They stand on behalf of people and planet, and we stand on behalf of them.”
“Simply put: weakening the EPA will make Philadelphia’s air, water, and soil dirtier, and everyday Philadelphians will foot the bill,” said Liz Lankenau, Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. “We need to let our representatives hear, loud and clear, that we do not support the weakening of these vital supports and protections.”
“For decades, the EPA has been a critical line of defense against pollution, leveraging the expertise of scientists and public health experts to protect human health and the environment for all Americans,” said Alice Lu, Clean Air Council Policy Analyst. “Unfortunately, we have watched over the last few months as the current administration continues to indiscriminately gut the agency, coming after programs and standards that would both directly and indirectly benefit Pennsylvania residents.”
“Prevention is cheaper than treatment, and it’s more successful, which means we need research and regulation from the EPA,” said Linnea Bond, Director of Education for Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania. “When we have seen pollution, contamination, and extreme weather wreak havoc on communities, the EPA coordinates a response to protect communities from further harm. In a world where industrial interests often trump those of the public, investing in the EPA protects our health and saves us money — both the medical systems we depend on and as individuals facing rising costs. Now more than ever, we need a robust EPA.”
“PennFuture calls for an adequately funded EPA that will ensure our communities are protected and have the opportunity to thrive,” said Annie Regan, Campaigns Director at PennFuture. “Recent polling shows that there is overwhelming public support for the EPA across all demographics as Pennsylvanians have seen what happens to their communities when industry is not regulated. The focus on making profits for fossil fuel power plants is taking priority over people’s health, their savings, and protecting the natural environment. Better air quality not only protects our health, but it means fewer missed work days, fewer trips to the doctor, and higher earnings for Pennsylvanian workers.”
