EPA drafts proposal to remove legal basis for regulating pollutant emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly sent the White House a draft rule that contemplates repealing the so-called "endangerment finding," a statutory basis adopted in 2009 during the Obama administration that allows the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

That scientific finding argues that some gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, pose a threat to human health by contributing to global warming. Since then, it has been the legal basis for imposing limits on emissions from vehicles, power plants and industries.

As reported by The New York Times, the draft also includes the elimination of exhaust emissions standards designed to encourage the manufacturing and sale of electric vehicles, a policy pushed during the previous term of Democratic President Joe Biden.

According to sources cited by the NYT, the EPA argues in its draft that such regulations, far from helping public health, could further harm Americans by making prices more expensive and reducing consumer choices. At the moment, the draft has neither been approved nor published, and is under interagency review. If ultimately approved by the White House, a public comment period will be opened prior to eventual implementation.

The measure, if formalized, would likely face tough legal challenges, as it would directly conflict with the Supreme Court's 2007 ruling Massachusetts v. EPA, which recognized greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

In fact, that precedent was key to the adoption of the endangerment finding in 2009.

Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has pushed an energy agenda focused on returning to traditional fossil fuels, while reversing numerous climate policies pushed by previous Democratic administrations.

However, despite criticism from environmental activists, the current draft does not seek to disprove the science of climate change but to limit the EPA's own legal reach to regulate it.

An EPA spokeswoman, who did not confirm details about the content, said the draft was sent to the White House on June 30 and noted that it will be officially released once it is in the review process and has the signature of agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.