EPA Provides Pathway for Air-Pollution Exemptions Via E-Mail
EPA Provides Pathway for Air-Pollution Exemptions Via E-Mail
US President Donald Trump may allow some power plants, chemical makers and others to bypass a range of regulations for years under an obscure provision of the Clean Air Act, the EPA said.
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(Bloomberg) — US President Donald Trump may allow some power plants, chemical makers and others to bypass a range of regulations for years under an obscure provision of the Clean Air Act, the EPA said.
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Companies that email requests for exemptions to emissions rules ranging from coal-burning power plants to copper smelters by the end the month may be granted them, according to guidance the Environmental Protection Agency posted on its website.
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“To advance President Trump’s Executive Orders and Power the Great American Comeback, EPA has set up an electronic mailbox to allow the regulated community to request a Presidential Exemption,” the agency said. “The president will make a decision on the merits.”
The guidance was earlier reported by the New York Times
Trump has the authority to exempt companies from Clean Air Act rules for up to two years if the technology to meet the requirements isn’t yet available and it is the national security interests of the US to do so, according to the EPA notice. Exemption can be renewed “if appropriate.”
The agency listed nine rules currently under review subject to the exemption request including limits on toxic chemicals, such as mercury and arsenic, and ethylene oxide, a carcinogen, and provided instructions for how company’s could apply including what to put in the email’s subject line.
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The online notice comes as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin aims to fulfill Trump’s pledge to speed US energy development and undo dozens of regulations put in place by the Biden administration.
The online notice drew criticism from environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, which called the move “an extreme and improper abuse of Clean Air Act authorities” that are supposed to be reserved for narrow circumstances.
“This is a Trump EPA-led effort to evade established limits on toxic pollution that protect millions of people across the U.S,” Vickie Patton, the groups’ general counsel said in a statement Thursday.
“The US can protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time,” an EPA spokesperson wrote in an email. “The Trump EPA is committed to the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment, and Power the Great American Comeback.”
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