EPA to reverse dozens of climate change regulations

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday said his team would roll back 31 regulations that restrict power plants, oil and gas production, manufacturing, and other industries. In a press release, Zeldin said the move is intended to improve American energy production, lower costs for citizens, and revitalize the auto industry. The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s goal of ramping up domestic coal, oil, and minerals production, the EPA said.

What other steps is the agency taking? The EPA on Wednesday also said it would revise and narrow the definition of how types of waterways are regulated under the Clean Water Act. The change could decrease limits placed on the agriculture, mining, and petrochemicals industries. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act’s protection in the case Sackett v. EPA. The court found protected waters must have a continuous surface connection to traditional interstate navigable waters to be covered by the act.

Zeldin on Wednesday also said the agency would review and reconsider air quality rules that regulate multiple industrial sectors. He said the department would reevaluate the standards while prioritizing Americans’ health, and that Trump was considering a two-year compliance exemption for affected facilities during the process. The agency will also revise the EPA’s endangerment finding of 2009 that determined that current and projected greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere endanger public health. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 found that greenhouse gasses are covered by the Clean Air Act and former President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act codified the finding.

Dig deeper: Read my report about Shell winning an appeal in a landmark climate ruling.