EPA to Roll Back “Ideologically Driven Regulations” to Drive “Energy Dominance”
Updated
The EPA will reassess additional regulations that were added to the Risk Management Plan in March 2024, as announced in recent court documents. Oklahoma et al. v. EPA is a lawsuit in response to the regulations that were added to the Federal Register last year. In the latest court documents, the EPA is asking for an abeyance on the court case until the EPA can review the rules and issue a Final Rule.
A declaration from EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management Deputy Assistant Administrator Steven Cook states that the agency aims to complete the public notice and comment process and issue the Final Rule by the end of 2026.
The Clean Air Act was initially passed in 1970, and the Risk Management Plan (RMP) was added in 1990. The 2024 rule requires certain petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing companies to conduct a Safer Technologies and Alternatives Analysis (STAA). The companies must implement at least one passive measure, safer technology, or a combination of active/procedural measures. The current deadline for completing the evaluation and implementing new technology is May 10, 2027.
The Federal Register notice from March 2024 states, “This type of regulation does not create uncertainties or unnecessary burdens, but rather offers reasonable flexibility in adopting the most effective measures to prevent and mitigate accidents.”
Industry lobbying groups sent a letter to the new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, dated January 30, 2025. The American Petroleum Institute, the American Chemical Council, and 14 other groups signed on to the letter. The industry groups call upon Administrator Zeldin to act urgently to stop the rule that “imposes misguided and illegal new requirements that fail to make facilities safer.”
The letter states:
“Absent swift and targeted action by EPA, our members will be forced to spend millions of dollars to produce mountains of paper that will not only fail to make American facilities safer, but will also make them less secure and more vulnerable to terrorists and hostile foreign regimes.”
Taking a look at the 2024 rule and the RMP program is just one of many actions being taken by the EPA and Administrator Zeldin. He posted on X Wednesday that the agency is “initiating 31 historic actions to Power the Great American Comeback in the greatest day of deregulation in American history. Our actions will unleash energy dominance, lower costs for Americans, strengthen the U.S. auto industry, and protect our environment.”
Several statements by Zeldin on the EPA X page refer to “commonsense regulations” to restore “American energy dominance.” He added, “We produce energy better and cleaner than than so many other countries around the world, and many Americans are punished at the end of the day by ideological driven regulations.”
The HighWire reported a chemical “loophole” within the RMP program, which requires companies that deal with “extremely hazardous chemicals” to create an RMP. “Reactive hazards” are not considered “extremely hazardous” by EPA standards because the chemicals may not be considered dangerous individually. However, when the chemicals interact with other chemicals in the facility, the substances can become more hazardous. There were 184 accidents at these facilities in 2023 and over 100 in 2024 that were not required to complete an RMP. This includes the chlorine chemical disaster in Conyers, GA.
The EPA issued a press release announcing 31 “historic actions” including a list of 22 potential regulation rollbacks. The press release states, “These historic actions will roll back trillions in regulatory costs and hidden “taxes” on U.S. families. As a result of these announcements, the cost of living for American families will decrease. It will be more affordable to purchase a car, heat homes, and operate a business. It will be more affordable to bring manufacturing into local communities while individuals widely benefit from the tangible economic impacts.”
The press release added:
“These actions will create American jobs, including incredible progress to bring back American auto jobs. The Biden and Obama era regulations being reconsidered have suffocated nearly every single sector of the American economy.”
The agenda includes rolling back regulations on air pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, industrial pollution, and wastewater regulations for coal-powered plants. Many of these rule changes are expected to face legal challenges.
The press release also indicates that the agency is reconsidering the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which classified greenhouse gases as pollutants. The determination labeled six gases as a threat to public health and a contributor to climate change. The gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Zeldin said, “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,”
Overturning or modifying environmental regulations will require a rulemaking process, which includes public notice on the Federal Register and a public comment period. Actions that involve internal guidance, such as removing DEI programs, will not require this additional step.
The rulemaking process can take about two years to complete. Jefferey Jaxen reported for The HighWire in 2023 about climate change initiatives and a survey that showed the majority of Americans do not believe climate change is the fault of humans. Jaxen reported in 2024 about other factors that contribute to climate change, including the sun, solar cycles, and ice age cycles.
