(The Post News)– Two President Donald Trump nominees are yet to lead the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) deregulatory efforts and face questions at their Senate confirmation on Wednesday. This is about the agency’s plans to guide the basis for greenhouse gas emission rules.
The EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gases may be reversed, which will impact climate regulations and emissions standards. According to two sources familiar with the matter, Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, has recommended attempting to reverse the finding to the White House. The said recommendation was confirmed by the EPA but did not disclose the recommendation’s details.
On Wednesday the Senate environment committee will weigh the confirmation of Aaron Szabo to be the EPA’s assistant administrator for Air and Radiation and David Fotouhi to be deputy administrator. These two key roles would lead any efforts to unwind the endangerment finding.
The Supreme Court ruled in a 2007 case, Massachusetts vs. EPA, that greenhouse gases are air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act and that EPA must issue a finding that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are a danger to public health and the environment. Back when the EPA was under former President Barack Obama, it had finalised the finding in 2009. And years later, under former President Joe Biden’s signature law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, codified language deeming greenhouse gases as air pollutants.
Spokesperson for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation Brian Weiss said it has not yet weighed in on whether the endangerment finding should be reversed. Zeldin said in his Senate confirmation hearing that the endangerment finding gives the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases, but the agency is not obliged to do so.
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