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Ebony Griffin‑Guerrier, Counsel at Singleton Schreiber, outlines the implications of the Trump EPA’s Feb. 26 repeal of the Endangerment Finding, the legal framework that has supported federal regulation of greenhouse gases since 2009. The rollback weakens federal oversight of climate pollution and complicates citizen‑suit pathways for challenging industrial emissions, but it leaves intact critical avenues for accountability based on criteria pollutants and permit violations that continue to harm frontline communities.

Ebony Griffin-Guerrier, Counsel at Singleton Schreiber, authored “Lawyering With, Not For: Why Community Voices Are the Foundation of Powerful Advocacy,” published by Singleton Schreiber.

In the article, Griffin-Guerrier argues that the most effective impact litigation begins within affected communities, not law offices. She emphasizes that residents living with environmental contamination, corporate negligence, and systemic harm are experts in their own lived experience, and that lawyers serve as strategic partners who amplify community truth through legal tools and institutional access. The piece underscores the importance of trust-building, early relationship development, and framing harm through human impact rather than financial metrics alone.

As Griffin-Guerrier writes, “Communities hold the knowledge. Lawyers bring the tools.”

On January 16, 2025, a fire broke out at Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, a battery storage plant in Monterey County, California. Due to unknown hazards posed by the smoke and fire, evacuation orders were issued, forcing approximately 1,500 local residents to leave their homes, schools to close, and highways to shut down. According to Vistra Energy (the project owner) active flames were no longer visible by January 17, but smoldering could still be seen on January 22.