EPA Makes Moves To End Policy Underpinning Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took the first step last week toward rescinding the agency’s 2009 endangerment finding, a legal prerequisite that had concluded greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare and that was used by the Obama and Biden administrations to regulate emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines. This step, announced on July 29, is important because the policy underpins most U.S. regulations that seek to address climate change.

Specifically, EPA administrator is proposing to withdraw the finding by asserting that:

• The EPA lacked authority under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act to issue the finding;
• The Supreme Court case that precipitated the finding has been superseded by recent court cases; and
• The EPA is acting in accordance with a Trump White House executive order that called for a reexamination of the 2009 standard.

The EPA based its announcement on an updated study of climate science by the U.S. Department of Energy. If finalized, repealing the endangerment finding would remove all greenhouse gas standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines, starting with EPA’s first greenhouse gas set in 2010 for light-duty vehicles and those set in 2011 for medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

In related news, the EPA also issued an interim final rule that delays implementation of restrictions on methane emissions from oil and gas drilling while it considers unwinding those requirements entirely. Under the proposed rule, companies will have 18 months before they need to install certain pollution controls.