By: Shaina Oliver, Colorado Field Organizer
Date: July 29, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-0728-0114
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for hearing my comments today. My name is Shaina Oliver. I’m a Field Coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force and EcoMadres. Today, I am testifying on behalf of Colorado parents counting on EPA to preserve strong tailpipe protections for new heavy-duty diesel vehicles, because these protections safeguard the health of our children and communities. Moms Clean Air Force is calling on EPA to not weaken basic commonsense policies that protect everyone in our communities, from workers on the frontlines to children in our schoolyards.
Importantly, I am an Indigenous mother of four kids. My children and I are descendants and survivors of the genocide known as the Indian Removal Act, known to the Dine as the Long Walk of the Navajo.
As Indigenous people we know environmental harms are embedded and inflected by our laws, policies, and governance. Harms that not only impact my community but impact communities across the United States; 44% of Americans—over 150 million people—live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2026 State of the Air Report. Nearly half of children in the U.S. are living with unhealthy air.
The Denver metropolitan area, where my family lives, learns, and works, is ranked the eighth worst community to breathe due to unhealthy levels of ozone pollution, or smog, according to the ALA. This pollution harms our health.
As a community member living with asthma, I too am at risk of asthma attacks, stroke, and premature death because of unhealthy air quality. My youngest son, who is now 14 years old, was diagnosed with asthma four years ago. Because of preventable air pollution, our communities are at higher risk of allergies, asthma attacks, increased ER visits, increased risk of infections, cognitive problems, lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, adverse birth outcomes, and premature deaths. Community residents who live near highways and industrial zoning areas receive a hefty amount of traffic and particulate matter pollution. Our communities—especially our children—face increased health risks.
This EPA proposal to undermine commonsense standards that reduce pollution from new heavy-duty diesel vehicles will harm people like me and my family. Moms Clean Air Force is calling on EPA to maintain the 2022 tailpipe pollution standards for new heavy-duty vehicles. Parents in Colorado count on your leadership to ensure basic protections for our communities, our workforce, and most importantly, our children.
Thank you.