Environmental Shift: US EPA Announces Historic Deregulatory Actions

This blog was originally posted on 18th March, 2025. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

AUTHORED BY CORINE LAURIJSEN, SENIOR REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST, COMPLIANCE & RISKS

In a landmark move, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced 31 historic actions in what it’s calling the “greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history.” 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin revealed these sweeping changes on 12 March 2025, aimed at advancing President Trump’s Day One executive orders and “Powering the Great American Comeback.” In Zeldin’s own words, the aim of these changes is to “drive a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion” and “fulfill President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lower cost of living for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.”

This announcement signifies a major shift in environmental policy, intending to roll back numerous regulations across various sectors.

Key Focus Areas of the Deregulation

The EPA’s initiative focuses on energy sector deregulation. Key actions include reconsideration of the following:

• Clean Power Plan 2.0
  This signals a rollback of efforts to curb carbon emissions from power plants, a central component of climate change mitigation strategies.
• Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS):
  This indicates a potential loosening of regulations on coal-fired power plants regarding mercury and other hazardous air pollutants.
• Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
  This implies a rollback of requirements for larger industries to report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which would impact data collection and transparency efforts related to climate change.
• Steam Electric Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) and Oil and Gas ELG
  This refers to revisiting regulations related to wastewater from power plants and oil and gas development, with the stated aim of lowering electricity costs and boosting energy production. 
• Risk Management Program Rule
  The EPA will revisit rules for oil and natural gas refineries and chemical facilities, which the prior administration had implemented to improve safety. 

The EPA also argues that the deregulatory actions will lower the cost of living for American families by rolling back regulatory costs and hidden “taxes” for families. They include reconsideration of the following measures:

• Automotive GHG Rules
  This targets GHG emission regulations on light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles, effectively challenging the foundation for electric vehicle mandates.
• 2009 Endangerment Finding
  In 2009, after a thorough examination of the science and careful consideration of public comments, the EPA announced that greenhouse gases threaten the health and welfare of the American people. Reconsideration of the Endangerment Finding is a significant move, as it re-examines the scientific basis for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
• Technology Transition Rule
  This rule sets limits on the use of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in specific technology sectors and subsectors. The reconsideration aims to reverse a rule that pushed companies to adopt specific technologies to reduce pollution, which the EPA claims increased costs in sectors like food and semiconductor manufacturing.
• PM 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
  This involves revisiting air quality standards for particulate matter, potentially leading to allowances for more industrial activity. 
• National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
  The EPA will reconsider National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for energy and manufacturing sectors.
• Overhauling the “Social Cost of Carbon”
  This indicates a change in how the government calculates the economic cost of carbon emissions, which is used to justify climate regulations.
• Redirecting Enforcement Resources and Terminating EJ/DEI arms
  The EPA will shift its enforcement focus and terminate the agency’s Environmental Justice and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.

What’s Next?

We must wait and see what these reconsiderations will lead to. Undoubtedly, there will be legal challenges, but one thing is clear – the second Trump Administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement opened the door to re-intensifying the use of fossil fuels in the US. Increasing fossil fuel production and use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transport and manufacturing, can only happen when strict environmental and climate friendly rules and regulations are no longer in place.

In the short term, deregulation might fulfill President Trump’s promise for a better economy by reducing the cost of doing business. In the long term, pretending climate change and environmental pollution does not exist will have a backlash when it turns out that the cost of environmental consequences and the long-term impacts on public health and the environment is much higher than the short term gain.

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