Statement by Tom Steyer on the EPA's Latest Attempt to Weaken Water Supply Protections Against Dirty Coal Ash Polluters

(SAN FRANCISCO, November 3, 2019) — Today, Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer released the following statement pushing back on the Environmental Protection Agency's latest move to put working families and communities at risk of water contamination:

"Once again, Donald Trump is putting profits over people by allowing dirty energy to further pollute. Communities live under constant threat of drinking water containing metal neurotoxins like mercury and arsenic. It's no secret that communities of color, and young children, particularly those living downstream from coal ash ponds, are disproportionately affected by these polluters.

These rules — that were extensively negotiated and modest in scope to begin with — were set in place to protect public health by creating safeguards that would prevent people from breathing or drinking these cancer-causing contaminants. But even this minimal level of protection was too much for Trump to abide.

While clean energy increasingly becomes the cheapest and most reliable form of energy, Trump and dirty coal executives are colluding for backdoor bailout attempts that will cost Americans more money and poison our drinking water. It's clear that Trump's 'drain the swamp' politics simply ushered in an era of unparalleled corruption and emboldened the corporate lobbyists currently serving in his Administration to offer lucrative giveaways to irresponsible coal companies.

Every person living in this country deserves access to clean water and air. As president, I'll not only declare the climate crisis a national emergency on day 1, but I will also give the EPA the resources it needs to stand up to polluters who have been long getting away with poisoning our communities."