U.S. House, Senate Vote To Overturn Clean Air Act Regulation That Affected Manufacturers

The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have both approved legislation that, if signed into law by President Donald Trump, would roll back a Clean Air Act (CAA) regulation that governs emissions from industrial facilities, including manufacturing firms. As National Public Radio explained, this rule imposed stricter regulations on facilities that emit seven “super pollutants” such as mercury, a dangerous form of lead, and dioxins.

The bill now goes to the White House where President Trump has pledged to sign it into law.

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) sponsored the legislation in the U.S. House. As his office explained in a press release last September, under Section 112 of the CAA, covered sources that emit more than 10 tons per year of one hazardous air pollutant (HAP) or 25 tons of a combination of HAP’s are designated as “major sources” and are subject to strict compliance requirements and continuous monitoring. Entities that emit less than this threshold are designated as “area sources” and are subject to less stringent requirements. In 2020, the first Trump administration reversed a 1995 regulation that said a covered entity that classifies as a major source cannot reclassify as an area source even if they reduce their emissions footprint below the requisite threshold. The Trump administration ruled allowed for this redesignation in order to incentivize and reward covered sources that reduce their emissions. In September 2024, the Biden administration reversed the Trump era rule.