Key facts
- Over 180 industrial facilities received two-year waivers from Clean Air Act rules.
- Exemptions were granted to petrochemical facilities, coal plants, taconite iron ore processing plants, and medical sterilizers.
- The waivers allow facilities to bypass pollution limits for cancer-causing gases and other hazardous substances.
- The process involved companies submitting email requests to the EPA.
- Approximately 250,000 people live within a mile of the exempted facilities.
President Donald Trump's administration has granted two-year waivers from key Clean Air Act provisions to over 180 industrial facilities, including petrochemical plants, coal-fired power plants, and medical sterilizers. The exemptions, which allow these facilities to bypass pollution limits for hazardous substances, were facilitated through a process where companies could submit email requests to the Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental groups have criticized these actions as dangerous and harmful to public health, noting that approximately 250,000 people live within a mile of the exempted sites. Many of these facilities have previously faced enforcement actions for pollution violations.