Environmental activists say “polluters should pay,” and that’s what they were chanting outside of the Syracuse offices for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Tuesday.

About forty people from across the state chanted and held signs ahead of a public hearing about the state’s proposed air pollution regulations.

Maggie Reilly from Indivisible Mohawk Valley said she’s seen firsthand how the climate crisis is affecting her community.

“We are experiencing extreme flooding events, caused by precipitation of increased intensity, longer duration and higher frequency,” she said. “This flooding has increased over the past decade to a point where people can no longer live in their homes.”

The protesters said they’d like Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to release regulations for the state’s proposed “cap and invest” program. It would put a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas pollution allowed, and companies would have to pay to exceed that amount.

State Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse) said communities can use that money to offset rising prices.

“It shouldn’t be you and me,” she said. “It shouldn’t be people who are just trying to keep their house comfortable. It should be the people who have created this problem in the first place and continue to create it.”

Ethan Gormley, a climate justice organizer from Citizen Action of New York, said he believes now is the time for the state to enact these regulations.

“With the money we get from our polluters, we’ll invest that into our communities. We’ll invest in housing, green energy, public transportation, and just get that money back into our wallets,” said Gormley.

This was the first of three in-person public hearings this month, where community members could speak about the state’s air pollution regulations. There will also be two virtual hearings.