Regan Warns: Rollbacks Hit Indiana’s Marginalized Communities Hardest
INDIANAPOLIS — Former U.S. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan returned to the Hoosier state Thursday with a sharp warning: the environmental protections that once served as a “floor” for public health are being dismantled, leaving marginalized communities to pay the highest price.
Speaking during Black History Month, the first Black male to lead the EPA addressed a room of advocates and media, framing the current federal deregulation not just as a policy shift, but as a “regulatory crisis” with deep racial and economic consequences.
Regan, an HBCU graduate who led the agency through a historic focus on environmental justice, highlighted the stark contrast between Indiana’s industrial success and the health of its residents.
“This state was built on industry, manufacturing, and agriculture… but for some reason, too often the benefits have not been shared equally,” Regan said. “The burdens—polluted air, contaminated water, toxic waste—have landed squarely on Black, Brown, low-income, and rural communities.”
Regan specifically pointed to Northwest Indiana, where residents living near steel mills and refineries breathe air that consistently ranks among the most polluted in the country. He also noted the ongoing threats of coal ash near residential neighborhoods and PFAS contamination in drinking water as evidence that the state cannot afford a “pay-to-pollute” atmosphere.
A central theme of the visit was the $117.4 million “Solar for All” grant originally approved during Regan’s tenure. The funding was intended to bring solar energy to low-income households in cities including:
*Indianapolis
*Gary
*Fort Wayne
*South Bend
*Terre Haute
However, with the recent federal repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Indiana is now at risk of losing this massive investment. Regan argued that these funds are essential for “energy independence,” moving families away from a reliance on expensive, polluting energy sources.
Despite the “legislative overreach” he described at the federal level, Regan expressed a dogged optimism in local organizers. “The communities closest to harm are also the communities closest to a solution,” Regan emphasized. “There’s no reason to be paternalistic. We were successful at the EPA because we had effective partnerships with local communities.”
The event was sponsored by Black Sun Light Sustainability, a key partner in the “Solar for All” initiative, alongside the McKnight Foundation and Emerald Cities Collaborative. These groups vowed to continue organizing, documenting, and demanding accountability even as federal standards are rolled back.
