EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Announces Historic Rollback of 31 Pollution Rules

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 12, 2025, that the agency will undertake 31 sweeping deregulatory actions targeting decades of environmental and public health protections. Zeldin described it as “the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history” and “the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation our nation has seen.” The announcement represents the most aggressive environmental rollback in EPA history, threatening to eliminate the legal foundation for climate action and benefiting polluting industries at the expense of public health.

The 31 Deregulatory Actions

The EPA’s deregulatory initiative targets regulations across three categories:

Unleashing American Energy (8 actions):

1. Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program - Review requirements for ~8,000 facilities reporting GHG emissions
2. Power Plant Emission Limits - Reconsider Clean Power Plan 2.0 CO2 limits for fossil fuel plants
3. Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) - Reevaluate emissions standards for coal-fired power plants
4. Oil and Gas Emission Limits - Reconsider methane and VOC regulations (Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc)
5. Water Quality Standards for Steam Electric Power - Revise coal-fired plant discharge standards
6. Air Rules for Manufacturing and Chemical Sectors - Revise multiple NESHAPs affecting steel, rubber, chemicals
7. Wastewater Regulations for Oil and Gas - Review effluent limitation guidelines for drilling operations
8. Risk Management Plan Requirements - Reduce compliance burdens for hazardous substance handling

Lowering Cost of Living (8 actions): 9. Social Cost of Carbon - Reconsider climate damage metrics used to justify regulations 10. Air Quality Standards - Revise PM2.5 NAAQS with greater implementation flexibility 11. Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding - Revisit the 2009 determination underpinning all GHG regulations 12. Vehicle Emissions Requirements - Reconsider light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle standards 13. Technology Transition Rule - Review hydrofluorocarbon restrictions in refrigeration and air conditioning 14. Regional Haze Program - Reconsider implementation approach 15. Enforcement Resource Redirection - Shift priorities to reduce “unnecessary bureaucratic burdens” 16. Environmental Justice and DEI Initiatives - Terminate programs integrating environmental justice considerations

Advancing Cooperative Federalism (6+ actions): 17. “Good Neighbor Plan” - Provide greater state flexibility in cross-border pollution controls 18. Coal Combustion Residuals - Reconsider coal ash disposal requirements, emphasizing state implementation 19. Clean Air Act Implementation Plans Backlog - EPA-state-Tribe collaboration to resolve SIP and TIP delays 20. Exceptional Events Rule - Revisit allowing prescribed fires in implementation plans 21. Science Advisory Board Reconstitution - New nominations for SAB and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee 22. North Carolina Hurricane Recovery - Extension of enforcement discretion for storm debris clearance

The Endangerment Finding: Foundation for All Climate Rules

The most consequential action is the reconsideration of EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” - the scientific determination under the Obama administration that greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride) endanger public health and welfare. This finding, based on overwhelming scientific evidence, serves as the legal foundation under the Clean Air Act for EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power plants, oil and gas facilities, and other pollution sources.

Without the endangerment finding, EPA lacks legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Repealing it would eliminate the legal basis for climate action across the federal government. Environmental legal experts note that “in the face of overwhelming science, it’s impossible to think that the EPA could develop a contradictory finding that would stand up in court.”

Health and Environmental Impacts

An Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis found the proposed rollbacks will lead to devastating public health consequences:

• At least 12,000 premature deaths through 2055
• 8.5 million additional asthma attacks
• 10 billion tons of additional climate pollution through 2055

When combined with eight other clean air protections that Administrator Zeldin has proposed repealing, environmental health experts project the total impact jumps to 184,000 deaths, plus 112 million asthma attacks and 40 million lost workdays and school absences.

EPA’s own previous estimates showed that the vehicle rules and greenhouse gas regulations it now intends to repeal would collectively lead to emissions reductions of over 20 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent and save more than 500 lives per year by 2028.

Industries Benefiting from Rollbacks

The deregulatory actions directly benefit polluting industries that face environmental compliance costs:

• Fossil fuel industry: Oil, gas, and coal companies gain relief from methane regulations, power plant emissions standards, and coal ash disposal requirements
• Chemical industry: Manufacturing and chemical sectors benefit from revised NESHAPs and reduced Risk Management Plan requirements
• Automotive industry: Vehicle manufacturers gain relief from emissions standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles
• Electric utilities: Power plants benefit from relaxed mercury standards, CO2 limits, and regional haze requirements
• Industrial facilities: ~8,000 facilities reporting GHG emissions could see reduced reporting requirements

Chemical Industry Regulatory Capture

Chemical industry veterans now oversee the regulations they previously lobbied against:

• Nancy Beck: Former American Chemistry Council executive now helps oversee EPA chemical safety regulations
• Lynn Dekleva: Former DuPont executive and American Chemistry Council official who previously challenged formaldehyde assessments now oversees same regulations

This represents classic “fox watching the chicken coop” regulatory capture, where industry insiders control the rules governing their former employers.

Implementation Timeline and Unified Agenda

While Zeldin announced the 31 actions on March 12, 2025, none of the changes take effect immediately. Each requires a formal rulemaking process involving:

• Publishing a proposed rule
• Soliciting public comment
• Gathering input from other federal agencies
• Allowing industry and advocates to weigh in

This typically takes “months, if not longer” before finalization. However, EPA’s Spring 2025 Unified Agenda (published September 2025) sets December 2025 deadlines for multiple final rules including:

• Repeal of GHG Standards for Fossil Fuel Power Plants (final rule projected December 2025)
• Oil & Gas Methane Rule Subpart W (final rule projected December 2025)
• HFC Phasedown Reconsideration (final rule projected December 2025)
• Good Neighbor Plan Phase 1 (final rule projected December 2025)

Legal Challenges Expected

Environmental advocates have announced they will “likely sue the regulator on most, if not all, the announced changes.” Legal experts warn that if the Trump administration attempts to bypass proper rulemaking procedures, “its critics will likely sue and the courts could rule against EPA on process grounds.”

The endangerment finding repeal faces particularly steep legal obstacles given the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting climate change and its health impacts. Any attempt to contradict established science would face intense scrutiny in federal courts.

State Responses

Several states, particularly those with strong environmental protections like California, New York, and Washington, are expected to challenge the rollbacks in court and maintain their own stronger standards. California’s vehicle emissions authority under Clean Air Act waiver provisions could allow it to set stricter standards that other states can adopt, potentially creating a split regulatory regime.

Climate Implications

The endangerment finding repeal represents an existential threat to U.S. climate policy. It would:

• Eliminate legal authority for vehicle emissions standards targeting climate pollution
• Remove the basis for power plant greenhouse gas regulations
• Undercut oil and gas industry methane rules
• Eliminate the foundation for future climate regulations across all sectors
• Signal U.S. withdrawal from global climate leadership
• Make meeting Paris Agreement commitments impossible

Combined with the 10 billion tons of additional climate pollution through 2055 from the vehicle and power plant rollbacks alone, these actions would accelerate “destructive floods, fires and storms” driven by climate change.

Significance

This represents the most aggressive assault on environmental protection in U.S. history. By targeting the endangerment finding - the legal foundation for all federal climate action - Zeldin seeks to dismantle decades of environmental law and eliminate EPA’s ability to address the climate crisis. The projected health impacts of 12,000 premature deaths and 8.5 million asthma attacks demonstrate the human cost of prioritizing polluter profits over public health and environmental protection.