Zeldin Announces Initial Agenda
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced two major initiatives affecting EPA's mission and the new source review programs. The first initiative was the "Powering the Great American Comeback" released on February 4, 2025. The second was the "Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History" released on March 12, 2025.
ANALYSIS
Powering the Great American Comeback
The first initiative features five "pillars" that will guide EPA during the Trump Administration. The pillars are as follows:
Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American
This pillar commits EPA to providing clean air, land, and water. Zeldin stated that it would reiterate steps taken during the first Trump Administration to improve conservation, reduce toxic emissions to land and water, and clean up hazardous sites while fostering economic growth. Zeldin also states that EPA emergency response actions will be swifter.
Pillar 2: Restoring American Energy Dominance
This pillar commits EPA to taking steps to "cut energy costs for everyday Americans." No specific measures were identified.
Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership
This pillar commits EPA to working to reduce "years-long, uncertain, and costly permitting processes" that deter business. It commits EPA to working with its state and federal partners to ensure projects are approved while ensuring that businesses follow the necessary steps to safeguard the environment.
Pillar 4: Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World
This pillar commits EPA to expediting permitting for AI development and ensuring that such centers "can be powered and operated in a clean manner with American-made energy."
Pillar 5: Protecting and Bringing Back American Auto Jobs
This pillar commits EPA to "streamline and develop smart regulations" to allow "the great comeback of the auto industry." No particular measures are identified in the press release.
In an interview with Breitbart, Zeldin noted the Administration believes that producing energy in the United States is cleaner than producing it elsewhere in the world, resulting in lower emissions, which supports both the first and second pillars. On the third pillar, he said that he is committed to making sure that permits are issued consistently and more quickly. On the fifth pillar, he emphasized that the goal is to allow consumers choices between electric and gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. He also stated that the EPA had over 1000 staff and contractors working on the Southern California fire cleanup.
Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History
The second initiative shows some of the steps contemplated in the Powering the Great American Comeback initiative. The primary focus of the second initiative is shown in Administrator Zeldin's statement that it is "driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more." The announced elements of the deregulatory action include:
UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY
Reconsideration of regulations on power plants (Clean Power Plan 2.0)
Reconsideration of regulations throttling the oil and gas industry (OOOO b/c)
Reconsideration of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that improperly targeted coal-fired power plants (MATS)
Reconsideration of mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program that imposed significant costs on the American energy supply (GHG Reporting Program)
Reconsideration of limitations, guidelines and standards (ELG) for the Steam Electric Power Generating Industry to ensure low-cost electricity while protecting water resources (Steam Electric ELG)
Reconsideration of wastewater regulations for oil and gas development to help unleash American energy (Oil and Gas ELG)
Reconsideration of Biden-Harris Administration Risk Management Program rule that made America’s oil and natural gas refineries and chemical facilities less safe (Risk Management Program Rule)
LOWERING THE COST OF LIVING FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
Reconsideration of light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle regulations that provided the foundation for the Biden-Harris electric vehicle mandate (Car GHG Rules)
Reconsideration of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and regulations and actions that rely on that Finding (Endangerment Finding)
Reconsideration of technology transition rule that forces companies to use certain technologies that increased costs on food at grocery stores and semiconductor manufacturing (Technology Transition Rule)
Reconsideration of Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards that shut down opportunities for American manufacturing and small businesses (PM 2.5 NAAQS)
Reconsideration of multiple National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for American energy and manufacturing sectors (NESHAPs)
Restructuring the Regional Haze Program that threatened the supply of affordable energy for American families (Regional Haze)
Overhauling Biden-Harris Administration’s “Social Cost of Carbon”
Redirecting enforcement resources to EPA’s core mission to relieve the economy of unnecessary bureaucratic burdens that drive up costs for American consumers (Enforcement Discretion)
Terminating Biden’s Environmental Justice and DEI arms of the agency (EJ/DEI)
ADVANCING COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM
Ending so-called “Good Neighbor Plan” which the Biden-Harris Administration used to expand federal rules to more states and sectors beyond the program’s traditional focus and led to the rejection of nearly all State Implementation Plans
Working with states and tribes to resolve massive backlog with State Implementation Plans and Tribal Implementation Plans that the Biden-Harris Administration refused to resolve (SIPs/TIPs)
Reconsideration of exceptional events rulemaking to work with states to prioritize the allowance of prescribed fires within State and Tribal Implementation Plans (Exceptional Events)
Reconstituting Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (SAB/CASAC)
Prioritizing coal ash program to expedite state permit reviews and update coal ash regulations (CCR Rule)
Utilizing enforcement discretion to further North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene
The major elements of the Deregulatory Action affecting the new source review programs include the proposed reconsideration of the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which if adopted would likely remove greenhouse gas "best available control technology" and "lowest achievable emission rate" requirements and also eliminate a series of triggers in both the NNSR and PSD programs; reconsideration of the PM2.5 NAAQS, which would greatly ease permitting of new projects under PSD across the country due to the limited headroom left with the adoption of the 9 ug/m3 standard; terminating the Biden Administration's "environmental justice" or EJ efforts, which have added some uncertainty to the NSR process; and any changes to the "exceptional events," which may lower effective background concentrations.
COMMENTARY
It is still early days in the Trump Administration and policy objectives and concrete actions are just now beginning to become clearer. For NSR practitioners and industry, the focus on increasing permitting certainty and reducing the timelines will be appreciated. Roll back of the PM2.5 NAAQS is likely to be more controversial and a longer-term goal but might have the largest impact. A focus on exceptional events, given the increased frequency and scope of wildfires across the United States and its neighbors, is also welcome as the current framework doesn't address these events well.