Council Urges Congress to Protect Environmental Protections

The Council adopted a resolution condemning the Trump Administration’s plan to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) "endangerment finding" – a foundational rule that identifies greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare under the Clean Air Act.

The Council warned that removing this rule would eliminate the federal government’s primary legal authority to regulate climate pollution from vehicles, power plants, and industry. According to the resolution, such a move threatens decades of environmental progress, increases pollution, and puts frontline communities like East Boston, Dorchester, and South Boston at greater risk.

The resolution also raised concerns that rolling back federal climate protections could drive up costs, especially for healthcare, infrastructure repairs, and disaster cleanup, as sea levels rise and extreme weather gets worse.

The Council said the move ignores lessons from past environmental battles, including the ones sparked by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and could harm vulnerable communities. The Body formally called on the 119th Congress to reverse the repeal and restore the EPA’s authority to act on climate pollution.