WASHINGTON - August 19 - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is opening the door for citizens to comment on new clean air protections the agency has proposed. Known as the Good Neighbor rule, the protections are part of a series of recent moves by EPA to reduce premature deaths and serious health problems from air and water pollution.

The Sierra Club and allies are organizing hundreds of members and concerned citizens to attend public hearings, hold rallies and submit comments in support of these protections.

The Good Neighbor rule alone is expected to prevent more than 240,000 asthma attacks, 26,000 hospital visits and 23,000 heart attacks-avoiding up to 36,000 deaths related to dirty air.

The EPA is holding three public hearings on the rule:

Chicago, Illinois, August 19
Wyndham Chicago, 633 North St. Clair
9:00 am-8:00 pm-public hearing
12:30 pm- press conference with American Lung Association, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, physicians and others
Contact: Christine Nannicelli, christine.nannicelli@sierraclub.org

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 26
Radisson Plaza, Warwick Hotel Philadelphia, 1701 Locust St
9:00 am - 8:00 pm- public hearing
11:00 pm-press conference with American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Sierra Club and physicians
Contact: Christine Guhl, christine.guhl@sierraclub.org

Atlanta, Georgia, September 1
9:00 am - 8:00- public hearing
Renaissance Downtown Atlanta, 590 West Peachtree Street NW
9:00-12:30- special testimony from health professionals, local officials
12:30-press conference with American Lung Association, Mothers and Others for Clean Air, Sierra Club
Contact: Erin Glynn, erin.glynn@sierraclub.org