By: Kiya Stanford, Georgia Field Organizer
Date: June 3, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-3297
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Kiya Stanford, and I am the Georgia State Organizer at Moms Clean Air Force. I am from Atlanta, and on behalf of our 34,000 members in Georgia, I urge you to protect the Clean Cars Standards. Strong transportation standards are crucial in protecting the health of our children and communities and must not be delayed or weakened.
As someone who has lived in one of the nation's most bustling cities, exposure to high levels of tailpipe emissions is no new thing. Tailpipe exhaust is a significant source of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which react in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, or smog. Ground-level ozone is harmful to breathe! According to the American Lung Association, metro Atlanta registered 5.5 unhealthy days of ground-level ozone pollution in 2024. There is an obvious problem here that poses risks to human health, especially that of the most vulnerable populations, including children and marginalized groups.
Health impacts from exposure to these pollutants can range from respiratory illness like asthma to cognitive problems and even premature death. This hits home for me because, as someone who attended primary and middle school next to major highways, I know the community level impacts of exposure. At just five years old, my little brother was nearly hospitalized and put on a nebulizer due to pneumonia after being seemingly healthy in the years prior. The only new factor was his environment; our elementary school nestled off I-285 and US 278 (Covington Highway).
Asthma and other respiratory problems were something common among my peers during this time and knowing what I know now, the commonality for all of us was our constant exposure to tailpipe pollutants each day when we went to school. Research shows that people of color, like myself, have higher exposure to toxic airborne soot. This is the case for many Title 1 Black and Brown students in urban and suburban districts, and we need to do all we can to mitigate their exposure, not delay or weaken critical safeguards, so stories like my brother’s aren’t replicated.
Again, I strongly urge EPA to protect Clean Cars Standards for the health and well-being of ALL communities, but especially those who are disproportionately affected by the impacts of these policies. Thank you for your time and consideration.