The new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, announced March 12 the agency would be rolling back 31 key environmental provisions that regulate air pollution, water protections, and the energy sector. A few of the key rollbacks are:
- Reconsideration of regulations on power plants aimed at reducing power plant emissions by setting standards on carbon dioxide emissions and regulations.
- Reconsideration of mercury and air toxics standards, including standards aimed at coal-powered plants which sought to reduce pollutants and regulations requiring the safe management of coal ash.
- Reconsideration of the mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program which had previously expanded the monitor and reporting of emissions above a certain threshold to a wider sector of industries.
- Reconsideration of wastewater regulations for oil and gas development.
- Reconsideration of light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle emissions regulations.
- Reconsideration of Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which under the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set national air-quality standards for particulate matter and five pollutants considered harmful to public health.
- Reconsideration of multiple National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.
- Ending the Good Neighbor Plan which sought to address interstate air pollution by requiring certain states to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and other pollutants from power plants and industrial facilities to help their downwind neighboring states meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
- Changes to the coal-ash program and coal-ash regulations, which are likely to affect the previous EPA rules that were aimed at enforcing cleanup efforts at legacy coal-ash dumping sites including ponds, landfills, and other sites; and
- Ending the endangerment finding that determined harmful greenhouse gas emissions were warming Earth.
These announced rollbacks are only the first step in a lengthy process required to enact regulatory change at the EPA. First, the agency must publish their proposed rule in the Federal Register for public view and comment. After considering this feedback, EPA must then issue its final rule that is published in the Federal Register. After this final rule is printed, it will be added to the Code of Federal Regulations that is the record of all federal government regulations.
There are 50 volumes in the Code of Federal Regulations, which are called titles, and Environmental Regulations can be found at Title 40, which is typically revised annually around July 1. The latest Federal Register can be found here. The federal regulations database, which has a searchable feature, can be found here. For instructions on how to submit a comment on a proposed rule, please see the FAQ section under commenting here.