Concerns arise over potential slackening of environmental protections as companies may evade crucial emissions limitations.
**E.P.A. Under Trump Opens Doors to Clean-Air Rule Exemptions**
**E.P.A. Under Trump Opens Doors to Clean-Air Rule Exemptions**
The Environmental Protection Agency allows power plants to request exemptions from clean-air regulations through a simple email.
In a surprising move, the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) is introducing a new method for industrial plants, particularly coal and oil-burning facilities, to potentially sidestep regulations aimed at curbing emissions of toxic pollutants. This development follows last year’s stricter policies implemented by the Biden administration that mandated reductions in harmful substances like mercury—known to pose serious risks to human health, particularly in developing children.
Under a provision of the Clean Air Act, the E.P.A. highlighted its ability to grant temporary exemptions if compliance with emission standards is impractical due to technological constraints or pressing national security concerns. Companies are now encouraged to submit exemption requests via email, where decisions on these appeals will rest with President Trump himself. The agency has even offered a template for such requests, including guidance on how to appropriately formulate the email.
Critics, such as environmental law experts, worry that this streamlined process may serve as a "rubber stamp," effectively allowing companies to bypass rules intended to safeguard air quality. Joseph Goffman, former E.P.A. assistant administrator during Biden's tenure, expressed his fears that such a system could undermine years of progress in regulating air pollution, granting an easier path for the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability.
Overall, this latest change is igniting debates across political and environmental spheres regarding the potential implications for public health and environmental integrity in the face of corporate interests.
Under a provision of the Clean Air Act, the E.P.A. highlighted its ability to grant temporary exemptions if compliance with emission standards is impractical due to technological constraints or pressing national security concerns. Companies are now encouraged to submit exemption requests via email, where decisions on these appeals will rest with President Trump himself. The agency has even offered a template for such requests, including guidance on how to appropriately formulate the email.
Critics, such as environmental law experts, worry that this streamlined process may serve as a "rubber stamp," effectively allowing companies to bypass rules intended to safeguard air quality. Joseph Goffman, former E.P.A. assistant administrator during Biden's tenure, expressed his fears that such a system could undermine years of progress in regulating air pollution, granting an easier path for the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability.
Overall, this latest change is igniting debates across political and environmental spheres regarding the potential implications for public health and environmental integrity in the face of corporate interests.
