By: Celerah Hewes, Senior Manager, State Field Campaigns, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: March 10, 2026
About: EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2025-0313
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Celerah Hewes, and I am a National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I work directly with numerous communities and parents around the country who are located near chemical and petrochemical facilities, and I am here today to urge EPA to do their job by maintaining essential requirements of the Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention (SCCAP) Rule, which protects communities, especially those near facilities with high accident rates, from chemical accidents.
Although the Risk Management Program (RMP) has been in place for decades, the threat of chemical disasters is still a real and present danger for many communities across the country. The proposed changes threaten the lives and safety of the over 177 million Americans who live in worst-case scenario zones near chemical facilities. The proposal increases the likelihood of chemical emergencies and disasters for workers, first responders, and children and families who live within a chemical danger zone.
It’s no surprise to EPA that exposure to harmful chemicals can worsen respiratory and other health conditions, so why would you remove protections for the 36% of pre-kindergarten through high school students who attend a school within the vulnerability zone of a hazardous chemical or petrochemical facility? Half of these children are in schools located in more than one chemical vulnerability zone since Risk Management Program facilities are frequently clustered together and located near other industrial and commercial facilities which compounds the risk that nearby schools, playgrounds, and communities could be polluted by multiple hazards at once.
Among the proposed changes being proposed, two stuck out to me as shockingly negligent in protecting people living and working near these facilities:
Ending community notification requirements, including the requirement to provide information in multiple languages for affected communities.
Community members deserve the right to know how these facilities may endanger their health and when/how to take protective measures.
Removing vital employee participation measures that ensure workers inside a chemical facility can help prevent or stop an unfolding emergency.
These workers are on the frontline of potential disasters and should be part of the solution and possible prevention of emergencies impacting their health and job.
The threat of chemical disasters is still a real and present danger for many communities across the country. Families living near these facilities deserve to know that EPA is doing its job and protecting their communities from the health and safety risks of chemical and petrochemical facilities.
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak today in favor of maintaining the protections in the EPA Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule.