Protection from Cumulative Emissions and Underenforcement of Environmental Law Act of 2025

This bill directs the EPA to create a clear plan to measure and fix the combined health risks people face from many environmental problems at once—like extreme heat, floods and storms, wildfires, and exposure to harmful chemicals. The EPA must propose this plan within 180 days, take public comments for 90 days with at least four public hearings, finish the plan within a year, and put it into action within three years. The plan must cover climate-related dangers and pollution regulated under major environmental laws, not just one pollutant at a time.

The bill also requires the EPA to identify at least 100 “environmental justice” communities that have had more environmental law violations than the national average in the past five years. The EPA must work with residents and state and local partners to find the root causes and put measures in place to cut violations to well below the national average. The EPA must identify these communities within 180 days, complete analysis and recommendations within a year, and finish carrying out the fixes within two years. An environmental justice community is defined as a place with significant populations of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and Indigenous communities that face higher health or environmental harms.

Key points

• Who is affected: Residents in overburdened neighborhoods, especially communities of color, low-income, and Tribal and Indigenous communities; businesses that must follow environmental laws; and the EPA.
• What changes: A new EPA plan (with public input) to assess and address combined risks; targeted action in at least 100 communities to reduce violations significantly below the national average.
• When: Proposal in 180 days; 90 days of public comments and at least four hearings; final plan in 1 year; community analyses in 1 year; community fixes done in 2 years; full plan implemented in 3 years.