Administrator Lee Zeldin says EPA will reconsider 31 regulations in what he calls the most consequential day of deregulation in American history.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on March 12, made what he called the “largest deregulatory announcement in U.S. history.”
In a video published by the agency, he said the EPA would take steps to roll back 31 regulations to fulfill President Donald Trump’s “promise to unleash American energy, revitalize our auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to the states.”
Zeldin’s actions presage formal moves to repeal EPA regulations that would exert pressure on Americans to buy low-emission electric vehicles and other significant actions targeting many previously published federal climate and pollution rules.
In a number of statements published by the agency on Wednesday afternoon, the EPA highlighted its forthcoming action on regulations, specifically rules or suites of rules initially authored by the EPA and published during the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, that it considers to be the origin of “trillions in regulatory costs.”
It is not immediately clear exactly what actions will be taken and how soon they may come to pass to either revise or repeal the 31 regulations highlighted in the EPA announcement. Representatives of the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times seeking clarification.
“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down the cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S., and more,” Zeldin said in a statement.
Endangerment Finding
The EPA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will reconsider the landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding and all of its prior regulations and actions that rely on it.
In 2009, former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed two actions regarding greenhouse gases and the Clean Air Act. The actions concluded that the “six key well-mixed greenhouse gases” threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations and said emissions from motor vehicles contribute to greenhouse gas pollution.
According to the EPA, those actions were significant because they form the basis of “implementing greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and other sectors.”