Chicago March 13, 2025
Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced plans to roll back several key environmental rules. He said he would reconsider important EPA policies, such as vehicle emissions standards, rules on power plant pollution, and a scientific finding that links greenhouse gases to climate change.
In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal and an official EPA statement, Zeldin explained his plan to undo more than a dozen environmental regulations. These include rules on air quality, water pollution from coal plants, and the requirement for big companies — like those in the oil and gas industry — to report their greenhouse gas emissions.
Zeldin described his plan as a way to boost business and speed up infrastructure projects. He criticized rules that, in his view, limited oil and gas production and unfairly targeted coal plants. He also claimed his proposals could reduce regulatory costs by trillions of dollars.
One of the most significant changes Zeldin is considering involves the EPA’s “endangerment finding” from 2009. This decision established that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are warming the planet and pose a threat to public health. The finding is crucial because it forms the legal basis for the EPA’s climate-related rules, including limits on emissions from vehicles, power plants, and oil and gas operations.
