EPA Administrator Suggests Sweeping Rollbacks of Environmental Protections

Proposed deregulations target climate change policies, electric vehicle mandates, and pollution controls for power plants. But will they hold up?

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin hailed Wednesday, March 12, as the "most consequential day of deregulation in American history." That was the day he proposed the rollback of 31 key environmental regulations.

Zeldin claimed that the rollbacks would save Americans money on things like home heating and vehicle purchases by eliminating “trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and hidden ‘taxes.’”

“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 declared in an EPA press release.

On the chopping block: the Clean Air Act, a 2009 EPA determination that greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. This pivotal ruling underpins a broad spectrum of climate regulations, including those affecting power plants and automobile emissions. Environmental advocates and scientists regard this endangerment finding as fundamental to U.S. environmental law and argue that efforts to rescind it will likely fail.

“In the face of overwhelming science, it’s impossible to think that the EPA could develop a contradictory finding that would stand up in court,” said David Doniger, senior attorney and strategist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Indeed, the courts have repeatedly rejected attacks on the finding. Even Trump’s first-term EPA administrators recognized that reversing it was ‘a fool’s errand,’ as one conservative former agency official put it.”

Other proposed deregulations include restrictions on the oil and gas industry, mercury standards targeting coal-fired power plants, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, and wastewater regulations for coal plants.

Zeldin also announced the elimination of smokestack limits linked to respiratory illnesses and premature deaths, as well as the repeal of the Clean Air Act’s “Good Neighbor” provision, which requires states to manage pollution affecting neighboring states.

Additionally, the EPA plans to discontinue enforcement efforts aimed at protecting predominantly low-income and minority communities.

Resiliency has also been caught in the crosshairs. In a particularly controversial move, Zeldin stated that future environmental policymaking would no longer consider the societal costs of climate-related disasters such as storms, flooding, wildfires, and droughts.

Critics were quick to point out that Zeldin’s actions are in direct conflict with the stated mission of the EPA: to protect public health and the environment. After Zeldin’s press release, the agency’s first administrator, William D. Ruckelshaus, made it clear that the EPA’s duty was not to promote commerce or agriculture but to ensure environmental preservation.

Gina McCarthy, who served as EPA administrator under President Obama, labeled the move “the most disastrous day in EPA history.” She asserted, “rolling these rules back is not just a disgrace—it’s a direct threat to all of us. The agency has completely abandoned its mission to protect the health and well-being of the American people.”

Murky Waters Ahead

While Zeldin was emphatic in his announcement, the proposed rollbacks are not immediately enforceable, as most changes will require a formal rule-making process, including public comment periods and economic and environmental justifications.

As the EPA moves forward with its deregulation agenda, legal challenges are all but inevitable. Environmental advocates, scientists, state governments, and businesses are expected to push back against efforts to undo regulations they say are essential to protecting public health and mitigating climate change.

Many of these rollbacks, especially those related to greenhouse gas regulations, the Clean Air Act, and pollution standards, will likely face immediate legal opposition. Courts have historically upheld the EPA’s duty to regulate greenhouse gases, making it likely that at least some of these deregulations will be blocked or delayed.

Some states, particularly those with strong environmental policies such as California, New York, and Washington, are expected to push back against the rollbacks by enforcing their own stricter environmental standards. This could lead to regulatory fragmentation across the country, where different states have vastly different environmental protections.

While the EPA’s announcements mark a significant shift in environmental policy, the long-term impact will largely depend on legal battles, state-level resistance, and potential political shifts in future elections.

The silver lining? Every step the federal government takes away from climate action is met with innovative strategies, cutting-edge ClimateTech solutions, and visionary leaders ready to step up.

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