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Healthy air, clean drinking water and pollution-free lakes and rivers are, unsurprisingly, broadly supported priorities across Pennsylvania. Environmental regulations are put in place to protect these very priorities – to safeguard the health of Pennsylvania communities and their environment from toxic pollutants and other damages. While much more progress is needed, new regulations can help address a myriad of environmental challenges, like the recently finalized rule setting limits for two types of toxic PFAS substances, known as “forever chemicals,” which will help address Pennsylvania’s widespread PFAS drinking water contamination.
It is well-established that the benefits of environmental protections to human health and the economy are significant. Looking at federal clean air protections, a comprehensive US EPA analysis projected that the benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which cut a variety of air pollutants across sectors, exceed the costs of meeting the standards by a factor of 30 to 1. The study valued the benefits at $2 trillion in 2020 alone, including from the prevention of 230,000 unnecessary deaths. Additionally, an analysis by NRDC found that the monetized health benefits of the Clean Air Act were $160-320 billion in 2020 in Pennsylvania.
But once again, some legislators are debating how to curtail expert agencies’ ability to put forth regulations that protect Pennsylvanians. This time, they are considering a dangerous amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution that would shift the balance of power toward polluters and powerful companies and away from experts, the public and stakeholders who help inform their development. This could impact environmental protections in addition to protections designed to support and protect labor, consumers, childcare centers, health care providers, schools, and more.
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