Trump鈥檚 environmental rollbacks: A four-year tide of regulatory change
| Washington
Days after entering office, President Donald Trump made a promise: He would eliminate two rules for every one signed into existence.
Since then, he has sought to make good on that pledge and more 鈥� touting his reversal of a 鈥渞egulatory assault鈥� on the economy at a White House event on July 16, saying, 鈥淭he American people know best how to run their own lives.鈥�
Although many Americans have praised the president鈥檚 deregulation efforts, many disagree with a loosening of rules that has been particularly sweeping in the arena of environmental policy. As the graphics with this story illustrate, more than 100 rollbacks have been launched, over issues as diverse as toxic substances, energy extraction, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to combat climate change.
Why We Wrote This
The trend of government regulation is perennially one of rising volume. The Trump administration is trying mightily to bend that curve downward 鈥� resulting in clashes over economic liberty and protecting Earth鈥檚 climate.
Some legal experts say that the changes,聽despite often resting on shaky scientific ground, could in some cases leave a lasting legacy 鈥� undermining the leeway of future environmental policymakers to set a different course.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e advancing these regulatory changes that create more flexibility, but in the process they鈥檙e trying to ... reduce EPA鈥檚 authority well into the future to ever try to come back under a new administration,鈥� says Caitlin McCoy, a staff attorney at the Harvard Law School鈥檚 environmental and energy law program.
Chart 1: Keith Belton and John Graham of Indiana University (published by Cato Institute), Chart 2: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (with Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy)
When the EPA replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy rule last June, it not only marked a momentous win for Mr. Trump鈥檚 deregulatory project. It also finalized a narrower meaning for the phrase 鈥渂est system of emissions reductions鈥� for the country鈥檚 power plants. The administration鈥檚 new legal interpretation could be tricky to undo, says Ms. McCoy.
If elected president, Joe Biden would 鈥渉ave to confront the fact that, a year earlier, the same agency said they didn鈥檛 have that authority鈥� to mandate cleaner electricity, she says. Administrations may change, 鈥渂ut through the lens of administrative law, it鈥檚 the EPA, and it鈥檚 supposed to have a certain amount of consistency all the way through.鈥�
Columbia University Law School鈥檚 Sabin Center deregulation tracker
Other experts have questioned the analyses used to justify these rollbacks. The Government Accountability Office recently released a report detailing how the EPA and other agencies have dramatically understated the 鈥渟ocial cost of carbon,鈥� the costs to society of greenhouse gas emissions that spur climate change. The EPA鈥檚 own scientists disavowed arguments justifying another major Trump rollback, the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule. The change, replacing Obama-era fuel economy targets for new cars, is projected to add emissions equal to an extra 5 million cars on the road by 2025 alone, according to federal forecasts. A typical car today emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Pew Research Center
In some cases, Trump administration efforts are hitting delays and possibly brick walls. The Administrative Procedure Act requires that a new rule must have a 鈥渞easoned explanation鈥� for it to be sound 鈥� or withstand a lawsuit, says Bethany Davis Noll of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law.
鈥淭he facts show that [SAFE] is harmful,鈥� says Ms. Davis Noll. 鈥淎nd so [the EPA] is doing shoddy stuff monkeying with the numbers to try to get away from that conclusion.鈥�
If some Trump moves leave a lasting mark, in other cases the president鈥檚 actions could face reversals 鈥� notably in cases where his policies lack strong economic or scientific footing. 鈥淚 think most presidents want some kind of legacy,鈥� Ms. Davis Noll says, and in her view 鈥渢hat鈥檚 what he hasn鈥檛 managed to accomplish.鈥�
Harvard Law School Environmental & Energy Law Program鈥檚 regulatory rollback tracker, Brookings Institution 鈥淭racking deregulation in the Trump era鈥�, The New York Times environmental rollback tracker, federal agency websites
