In a match with Olympic overtones, the U.S. women’s water polo team took on Australia on Tuesday evening, April 9, in an exhibition game at Long Beach City College.

The match was the second meeting in three days between the Aussies and the Americans, 14-8 winners on Tuesday. The U.S. aims to capture its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris. The U.S. will begin Olympic play July 27 against Greece.

The Olympic Games return to Los Angeles in four years and Long Beach will be among the sites hosting events —  tentatively including water polo, rowing, handball, BMX, canoeing and open-water swimming.

On Sunday’s opening match of the water polo series, the U.S. defeated Australia, 10-4, at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta. The Americans are undefeated this year, including winning all six of its games, and the gold medal, at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The U.S. also defeated Australia, 10-9, in a quarterfinal Feb. 12 at the FINA world tournament. Australia finished sixth in the 16-team field.

The 17-player U.S. roster includes all but one player from the 15-member U.S. team that won the gold medal at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in February and six members of the team that won that gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics — Rachel Fattal, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Ashleigh Johnson, Amanda Longan, Maddie Musselman and Maggie Steffens.

The U.S.-Australia series will conclude Saturday at noon at the William Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

A crew of six men — five from the Phoenix area and another from Mexico, who prosecutors said was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel — all have been accused of participating in the sprawling murder plot that ultimately left brothers Edgar Berrelleza-Soto, 26, and Joel Mauricio Berrelleza, 35, both of Orange, and two other men dead.

Raul Gastellum Flores, 33, of Phoenix, is the only suspect so far to face a jury. He appeared inside a Santa Ana courtroom on Tuesday, the first day of his trial on four counts of murder for what Orange County prosecutors said was his part in the plot.

Wearing a blue suit and black glasses, his long hair pulled back in a bun, Flores sat quietly next to his attorney, listening as Deputy District Attorney Harris Siddiq sketched out what he believed to be Flores’ involvement in the killings.

Siddiq accused Flores of agreeing to help Rosario Roman-Lopez, a former partner of the Berrelleza brothers in a cross-border drug smuggling operation, in a plot to kidnap and kill the brothers over what Roman-Lopez said was their failure to pay him back for hiring a coyote.

Siddiq said Roman-Lopez promised to pay Flores just $2,000 to take part in the plan.

“He knew this was dangerous,” Siddiq said of Flores. “But he signed right up.”

Flores is on trial after his 2018 arrest in Oklahoma by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents investigating a separate drug trafficking operation. While he was in custody, a detective with the Orange Police Department traveled to Oklahoma to interview him.

Siddiq said that in a series of interviews, Flores admitted to being part of the crew that ambushed the Berrelleza brothers and two other victims, Antonio Medina, 19, of Glendale, Arizona and Fernando Meza, 20 of Phoenix.

Berrelleza-Soto was in the drivers seat of his GMC SUV, parked in his driveway on East Oakmont Avenue on Nov. 9, 2015, with Media and Meza in the back. Siddiq said Flores and two other men suddenly drove up in a vehicle that blocked the GMC.

Flores and another man, both armed with guns, and a third armed with a knife, threatened the trio in the GMC, and attempted to bind their hands with duct tape. Within minutes, all three victims would be dead: Berrelleza-Soto and Medina died after being shot in their heads, while Meza, injured both from gunshots and stabs from the knife, ultimately died from smoke inhalation, Siddiq said.

In the interview with the detectives, Flores admitted to dousing the bodies with gasoline, then lighting them on fire with a cigarette lighter. A video from a nearby porch camera captured Flores jumping out of the GMC as it caught fire, then running to a car waiting just behind.

Later, Roman-Lopez and other members of the crew kidnapped Joel Berrelleza, holding him in another vehicle they were driving toward Fontana.

Siddiq said when Joel Berrelleza asked Roman-Lopez for a cigarette, Roman-Lopez told him “no” then shot him three times point blank inside the car. Roman-Lopez then filmed with his cell phone as the crew taunted Berrelleza as he died from the gunshots, video that was played for the jury in court Tuesday.

Attorneys said Roman-Lopez was killed in Mexico months after the Southern California murders.

Flores has not been accused of firing a weapon during the Oakmont Avenue killings. Prosecutors instead leaned on his participating in what they said was a conspiracy to kidnap and kill the victims.

Cameron Talley, an attorney for Flores, disputed whether Flores knew Roman-Lopez intended to kill the Berrelleza brothers.

Talley did not give an opening statement Tuesday. He said Flores intended to testify in his own defense during the trial.

Flores was one of three men arrested who were accused of being part of the crew. The others were Alejandro Guerrero Ruiz of Orange and Angel De Jesus Barreras of Ontario.

Ruiz took a deal in 2020, agreeing to plead guilty to robbery if prosecutors dropped the murder charges against him. Siddiq said Ruiz was a street-level dealer for the Berrelleza brothers at the time and acted as a scout for the rest of the crew, telling them how much money the brothers had on them at the time and discussing their locations.

Barreras continues to face murder charges in the case, but he has not faced a jury yet. His case was sealed, according to court records.

The two final suspects in the case, Alex Corral and Juan Castro, have not yet been arrested.

Shackled and wearing a green jail jumpsuit indicating he has been isolated from the general population at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, Christopher Bingham appeared before Judge Colin Bilash in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Bingham, 45, is charged with 10 felony counts, including grand theft of a Remington 870 shotgun — reportedly stolen from the Sheriff’s Department — and possession of a machine gun, a short-barreled AR-15 assault rifle, two explosive devices and four gun silencers. He is being held on $240,000 bail and was ordered to return to court April 18 for a preliminary hearing.

Each charge against Bingham includes a gang enhancement alleging the crimes were committed “for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang,” in this case, the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang.

Bingham, an 18-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, was arrested on Thursday, April 4, at his home in Twentynine Palms, where a March 23 raid by sheriff’s investigators yielded 160 firearms, explosive devices and Mongols paraphernalia, including a fully-patched leather vest, according to the Sheriff’s Department and sources close to the investigation.

Clutching a white motorcycle helmet as he left the San Bernardino Justice Center following Tuesday’s proceedings, Bingham’s attorney, Jeff G. Moore, declined to comment, other than to say, “The preliminary hearing should be interesting.”

Asked to elaborate, Moore, a former Riverside County prosecutor, said, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Background checks

The criminal case against Bingham isn’t his first brush with trouble from his own department.

In late 2019 or early 2020, Bingham came under suspicion for improperly using the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or CLETS, to conduct criminal background checks. The Sheriff’s Department referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office to potential charges, but county prosecutors turned the case down in January 2020 due to insufficient evidence, district attorney’s spokesperson Jacquelyn Rodriguez said Tuesday.

Rodriguez could not confirm whether Bingham had allegedly misused the CLETS database to conduct criminal background checks on customers at his former gun shop in Twentynine Palms, O’Three Tactical.

O’Three Tactical gun shop

Bingham, a former Marine, operated O’Three Tactical from 2015 through 2021 near the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, on Twentynine Palms Highway, east of Adobe Road.

With its proximity to the military base, O’Three Tactical was popular with Marines and law enforcement officers from as far away as Downey and Newport Beach, according to a former employee who asked to not be identified.

The employee, who described Bingham as a dirt bike enthusiast who rode a Kawasaki motorcycle and drove a Jeep, said the gun shop sold firearms and magazines to and did repairs for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as well as other agencies.

“Everything we did was legit,” the employee said. “It was really by the book. … (Bingham) was teaching us the right way. Everything was certified.”

Bingham would kick people out of the shop for wearing the “colors” of an illegal motorcycle gang or smelling like weed, and also participated in fund-raisers with the Sheriff’s Department and conducted gun raffles, said the former employee, who left in 2017 and described Bingham’s arrest as “off-putting.”

Bingham shuttered O’Three Tactical on June 23, 2021.

“After being unable to maintain any kind of inventory and hemmoraging (sic) my own personal finances over the last year trying to keep our doors open, O’Three Tactical will be permanently closing its doors,” Bingham said earlier that June in a post on the gun shop’s Facebook page.

Origins of raid

The March 23 raid on Bingham’s home stemmed from an ongoing sheriff’s investigation into his activities that began in January and culminated with his arrest earlier that day on the westbound 10 Freeway in Beaumont. A source close to the investigation said Bingham and another man were riding Harley-Davidsons when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled them over for speeding.

The man Bingham was riding with was wearing a black leather vest with Mongols patches, according to the source.

The CHP officer, according to the source, seized from Bingham an unregistered Glock 9 mm handgun he had in his possession, and Bingham identified himself as law enforcement. A sheriff’s deputy who had followed Bingham and his friend from Yucca Valley arrested Bingham and booked him on suspicion of being a gang member carrying a loaded firearm. Bingham subsequently was released from custody.

A Sheriff’s Department news release said Bingham was riding with two other “outlaw motorcycle gang” members — not one — at the time of his first arrest.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs

The U.S. Department of Justice lists the Mongols among a group of outlaw motorcycle gangs, or OMGs, “whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises.” The Justice Department characterizes them as “highly structured criminal organizations whose members engage in criminal activities such as violent crime, weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking.”

The United States is home to more than 300 active outlaw motorcycle gangs ranging in size from single chapters with five or six members to hundreds of chapters with thousands of members, according to the Justice Department.

And the outlaw motorcycle gangs often clash, typically triggering law enforcement investigations.

Last month, authorities in Stanislaus County arrested four men and seized drugs, guns and bomb-making materials as part of a months-long investigation into outlaw motorcycle clubs. The investigation began last year amid violent altercations between dozens of members of the Hells Angels, Mongols and Salida Nomads.

The 27-year-old is scheduled to be arraigned May 2 on two counts of domestic battery and a count each of spousal battery, false imprisonment and assault at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, court records show.

An attorney for Urías didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the charges.

The charges were filed with the court on Monday, said Ivor Pine, deputy director of communications for Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.

In January, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file a felony case against Urías and instead referred the matter to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office for consideration of whether a misdemeanor case was warranted.

Urías, who became a free agent at the end of the 2023 season, was arrested Sept. 3 by police in Exposition Park following a much-publicized soccer match between LAFC and Inter Miami — featuring star Lionel Messi — at BMO Stadium. He posted bond and was released the next day.

The alleged victim in the case was Urías’ wife, according to a District Attorney’s Office charge evaluation worksheet in January.

“They engaged in an argument whereby the defendant pushed the victim against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders,” according to the document. “Neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing. The case is accordingly referred to the city attorney for misdemeanor filing consideration.”

Urías was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball days after his arrest, and the Dodgers issued a statement saying the team was cooperating fully with the investigation.

“The Dodgers take all allegations of the kind in this case very seriously, and we do not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence,” the team said.

MLB said in a statement Tuesday that its investigation is ongoing but declined to comment further.

A conviction on the spousal battery, domestic battery or false imprisonment means up to a year in county jail or a fine or both jail time and fine, according to Pine.

The assault charge carries a sentence of up to six months in county jail or a fine of up to $1,000 or both, he said.

The fine for spousal battery is up to $6,000, up to $2,000 for domestic battery and up to $1,000 for false imprisonment, Pine said.

Urías was 11-8 during the 2023 season with a 4.60 earned-run average. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Dodgers in 2016, and has a lifetime record of 60-25 with a 3.11 ERA.

He was suspended for 20 games in 2019 by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for an incident in the parking lot of the Beverly Center on May 13 of that year. TMZ reported that a witness called police saying that Urías was arguing with a woman and shoved her to the ground. Officers responded to the scene and spoke with the woman, who denied anything physical took place, insisting it was nothing more than a heated argument.

Urías was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery in that incident, but no charges were filed.

Southern California News Group Staff writer Ruby Gonzales and The Associated Press contributed to this report

But to his horror, the vintage sedan rolled down the ramp and into about 20 feet of water, becoming fully submerged.

“He was very emotional,” Canyon Lake Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said.

The Fire Department received a call from the property owners association just before 8 a.m. Security workers had noticed an oily sheen near the eastport launch ramp and reviewed surveillance recordings for clues. They saw the Packard disappear completely from view beneath the surface, LaTendresse said.

Unaware that no one was inside, Canyon Lake firefighters, noticing bubbles as well as oil, requested assistance from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department and the Riverside County sheriff’s dive team.

The car’s owner showed up around 8:20 a.m. and told them that the car was unoccupied, LaTendresse said. It was towed from the lake after several hours. Riverside County environmental health workers were called to the lake to handle the clean-up.

The owner could not be reached for comment, but a person who specializes in classic cars said the mishap had to have shocked him.

“You have a mini heart attack. Definitely a pride and joy,” said Pedro Gonzalez, the automotive curator at Carey’s Fine Automobiles in San Bernardino.

He estimated the value before the submersion at $25,000 to $40,000, depending on how much of the car remained original.

Gonzalez said he wasn’t sure how the car could have gotten loose. He said most cars from the 1930s have pull-handle parking brakes. The car could be difficult to save, noting the interior being saturated with water. The wiring — whether it was original or current material — could also be a factor, Gonzalez said.

“It was like his baby,” LaTendresse said.

The children, eight months old and a 9-year-old, either fell or were thrown out of a moving vehicle, said Luis Quintero, a California Highway Patrol officer and spokesman. A 911 caller told authorities that a black sedan was seen in the area where the girls were found. The older child suffered moderate injuries.

About 30 minutes later, in Redondo Beach, a dark-colored Porsche Cayenne SUV hit 100 mph before crashing into a tree on Pacific Coast Highway at Vincent Street, authorities said, killing the sole occupant, the mother, Danielle Cherakiyah Johnson, 34.

Law enforcement learned about the tragedies over time.

The girls were found abandoned about 4:30 a.m. on the freeway near Centinela Avenue, the sedan crashed, and then, around 7:30 a.m., Jaelen Allen Chaney, 29, was found unresponsive at the apartment building in the 6200 block of Variel Avenue and pronounced dead, Los Angeles police Officer Kevin Terzes said.

A man who lived next door to the family of four and discovered Chaney’s body told NBC Los Angeles reporters that he “saw two legs that were on the floor, so I called 911 and said, ‘Something bad has happened here.’”

“I went outside of our unit, and I saw blood on the floor,” the neighbor, Richard Berglund said. “I started calling in there and said, ‘Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?’ And nobody answered.”

A knife with forensic evidence was found at the scene.

The sudden change of plans cast fresh doubts on the proceedings, the historic first impeachment of a Cabinet secretary in roughly 150 years. House Republicans impeached Mayorkas over the Biden administration’s handling of security and immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Senators were expected to swiftly dismiss the House-passed charges against Mayorkas. Democrats, who hold majority control of the chamber, argue the charges do not rise to the constitution’s bar of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Johnson was planning to have the House impeachment managers transmit the articles against Mayorkas on Wednesday evening. Under procedural rules, that would require senators to convene the next day as jurors for a trial to decide whether to convict or acquit the secretary of charges.

Thursday’s trial was expected to be over quickly after some procedural votes to table or dismiss the charges.

But Republicans intent on holding Mayorkas accountable for border security are pushing for a full trial. Republican senators spoke during a private GOP lunch Tuesday about using a delay to build the case.

“To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week,” said Johnson’s spokesman, Taylor Haulsee. “There is no reason whatsoever for the Senate to abdicate its responsibility to hold an impeachment trial.”

The request was made to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must approve the proposed increase that the Postal Service contends is necessary to achieve financial stability. If approved, the 5-cent increase for a “forever” stamp and similar increases for postcards, metered letters and international mail would take effect July 14.

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy previously warned postal customers to get used to “uncomfortable” rate hikes as the Postal Service seeks to become self-sufficient. He said price increases were overdue after “at least 10 years of a defective pricing model.”

In its filing, the Postal Service said it’s also seeking price adjustments on special services such as money order fees and certified mail. But there will be no price increase for post office box rentals, and postal insurance will be reduced by 10% when items are mailed, the postal service said.

A: The Renewal Identification Number is used when a driver is renewing a vehicle registration using either one of the DMV’s self-service kiosks or the automated phone renewal system, 800-777-0133, said DMV spokesperson Ronald Ongtoaboc. The Renewal Identification Number provides people with the ability to renew their vehicle registration without having to input their vehicle’s license plate and partial Vehicle Identification Number, Ongtoaboc said. The Renewal Identification Number is not used when renewing on the DMV’s website.

The DMV encourages drivers to use its online services to complete transactions such as eligible driver’s license and vehicle registration renewals. People can also use the Service Advisor on the DMV website to learn options to complete DMV tasks. To sign up for paperless vehicle registration and driver’s license renewal notices, you’ll need to sign in or create a secure online account at www.dmv.ca.gov, and then opt in. Using online services will help you avoid a time-consuming trip to a DMV field office.

More reader questions on potholes

Robert Rosenquist asked who is responsible for repairing potholes on Outer Highway 10 South: the city of Redlands or San Bernardino County. “The condition is really poor, and has been exacerbated by the recent rains,” Rosenquist said. Another reader, Don Leiffer Jr. of Highland, pointed out also that the jurisdiction where some potholes are located is unclear in parts of San Bernardino County. His concern is the same as Rosenquist’s: that drivers wanting to report a pothole sometimes can’t tell who to report the pothole to because the jurisdiction is unclear. If they report the pothole to the wrong city or agency, it won’t get fixed.

“There are sections on some streets where one side (say the north side) is the SB city and the other (south side) is Highland or unincorporated. They could even be California Highway Patrol in certain areas,” Leiffer said. “Contact the wrong agency and your call for help gets into the ‘neverland’ basket.’”

To cover all bases, a driver may have to report a pothole to more than one jurisdiction.

Rosenquist wasn’t specific as to where the potholes he saw are located exactly, but much of Outer Highway 10 South is outside Redlands city limits. They could be in Yucaipa or unincorporated San Bernardino County. Rosenquist could report these potholes to Caltrans’ online customer service request link at https://csr.dot.ca.gov/index.php/Msrsubmit as well as the San Bernardino County Public Works Department at https://specialdistricts.sbcounty.gov/roads/road-repair-request/, or call 909-386-8800. If he thinks the potholes are in Redlands, he can report them to the city of Redlands at https://www.cityofredlands.org/pod/report-civic-problem or on the Redlands 311 app. The same answer applies to Leiffer Jr.’s concern. If drivers are unsure of the jurisdiction (city, county or CHP property) where a pothole is located, we think they should take the extra few minutes to go online and report the pothole to the multiple jurisdictions where the pothole could be located.

Do you commute to work in the Inland Empire? Spend a lot of time in your vehicle? Have questions about driving, freeways, toll roads or parking? If so, write or call On the Road and we’ll try to answer your questions. Please include your question or issue, name, city of residence, phone number and email address. Write ontheroad@scng.com or call us at our new phone number, 951-368-9995.

WASHINGTON — More than 200 chemical plants nationwide will be required to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer under a new rule issued Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The rule advances President Joe Biden’s commitment to environmental justice by delivering critical health protections for communities burdened by industrial pollution from ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other dangerous chemicals, officials said.

Areas that will benefit from the new rule include majority-Black neighborhoods outside New Orleans that EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited as part of his 2021 Journey to Justice tour. The rule will significantly reduce emissions of chloroprene and other harmful pollutants at the Denka Performance Elastomer facility in LaPlace, Louisiana, the largest source of chloroprene emissions in the country, Regan said.

“Every community in this country deserves to breathe clean air. That’s why I took the Journey to Justice tour to communities like St. John the Baptist Parish, where residents have borne the brunt of toxic air for far too long,” Regan said. “We promised to listen to folks that are suffering from pollution and act to protect them. Today we deliver on that promise with strong final standards to slash pollution, reduce cancer risk and ensure cleaner air for nearby communities.”

When combined with a rule issued last month cracking down on ethylene oxide emissions from commercial sterilizers used to clean medical equipment, the new rule will reduce ethylene oxide and chloroprene emissions by nearly 80%, officials said.

The rule will apply to 218 facilities spread across the United States — more than half in Texas or Louisiana. Plants also are located in two dozen other states, including Ohio and other Midwest states, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and throughout the South, the EPA said. The action updates several regulations on chemical plant emissions that have not been tightened in nearly two decades.

Democratic Rep. Troy Carter, whose Louisiana district includes the Denka plant, called the new rule “a monumental step” to safeguard public health and the environment.

“Communities deserve to be safe. I’ve said this all along,” Carter told reporters at a briefing Monday. “It must begin with proper regulation. It must begin with listening to the people who are impacted in the neighborhoods, who undoubtedly have suffered the cost of being in close proximity of chemical plants — but not just chemical plants, chemical plants that don’t follow the rules.”

Carter said it was “critically important that measures like this are demonstrated to keep the confidence of the American people.”

The American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, said it was reviewing the rule but criticized EPA’s use of what it called “a deeply flawed” method to determine the toxicity of ethylene oxide.

“We also remain concerned with the recent onslaught of chemical regulations being put forth by this administration,” the group said in a statement. Without a different approach, “the availability of critical chemistries will dwindle” in the U.S., harming the country’s supply chain, the ACC said.

The new rule will slash more than 6,200 tons (5,624 metric tonnes) of toxic air pollutants annually and implement fenceline monitoring, the EPA said, addressing health risks in surrounding communities and promoting environmental justice in Louisiana and other states.

The Justice Department sued Denka last year, saying it had been releasing unsafe concentrations of chloroprene near homes and schools. Federal regulators had determined in 2016 that chloroprene emissions from the Denka plant were contributing to the highest cancer risk of any place in the United States.

Denka, a Japanese company that bought the former DuPont rubber-making plant in 2015, said it “vehemently opposes” the EPA’s latest action.

“EPA’s rulemaking is yet another attempt to drive a policy agenda that is unsupported by the law or the science,” Denka said in a statement, adding that the agency has alleged its facility “represents a danger to its community, despite the facility’s compliance with its federal and state air permitting requirements.”

The Denka plant, which makes synthetic rubber, has been at the center of protests over pollution in majority-Black communities and EPA efforts to curb chloroprene emissions, particularly in the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, an 85-mile (137-kilometer) industrial region known informally as Cancer Alley. Denka said it already has invested more than $35 million to reduce chloroprene emissions.

The EPA, under pressure from local activists, agreed to open a civil rights investigation of the plant to determine if state officials were putting Black residents at increased cancer risk. The agency initially found evidence of discrimination, but in June it dropped its investigation without releasing any official findings and without any commitments from the state to change its practices.

Regan said the rule issued Tuesday was separate from the civil rights investigation. He called the rule “very ambitious,” adding that officials took care to ensure “that we protect all of these communities, not just those in Cancer Alley, but communities in Texas and Puerto Rico and other areas that are threatened by these hazardous air toxic pollutants.”

While it focuses on toxic emissions, “by its very nature, this rule is providing protection to environmental justice communities — Black and brown communities, low-income communities — that have suffered for far too long,” Regan said.

Patrice Simms, vice president of the environmental law firm Earthjustice, called the rule “a victory in our pursuit for environmental justice.”

Fenceline monitoring for six toxic air pollutants — ethylene oxide, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, benzene, 1,3-butadiene and ethylene dichloride — will be crucial to ensure accountability and transparency, Simms and other advocates said. The new rule marks just the second time that EPA has mandated fenceline monitoring in air toxics standards under the Clean Air Act.

“For years, we’ve watched our families and neighbors suffer from disease, like cancer, due to underregulated emissions,” said Robert Taylor, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John, a local advocacy group.

After the EPA closed its civil rights complaint, “we felt little hope that any government could protect us from industry,” Taylor said. The new rule is “renewing our hope,” he said.

Associated Press writer Michael Phillis in St. Louis contributed to this story.