11 ways the Trump administration has gutted environmental and public land protections
The Trump administration has proposed getting rid of an Obama-era clean emissions plan that aimed to cut carbon emissions by a third by 2030, partly on the basis that the plan "waged a war on coal."
The EPA also scrapped planned regulations on pollution from sewage plants, and proposed new guidance that reduced the number of waterways and other bodies of water protected from pollution under the Clean Water Act.
Source: Business Insider, New York Times
The administration has also rolled back EPA and Interior Department regulations requiring methane emitters to reduce "flares" of methane pollution on protected public and tribal lands, and give companies more leeway in repairing leaks.
In a show of deference to the coal industry, the EPA has also gutted the Stream Protection Rule, a regulation requiring coal companies to minimize pollution of nearby waterways, including sources of drinking water.
Sources: Business Insider, NBC News
Pruitt also eliminated a previous regulation implemented by Obama requiring coal mine operators to prove they had the ability to clean up pollution, placing the burden of clean-up back on the government.
Sources: The New York Times, The Guardian
The administration has also proposed phasing out Obama-era federal regulations on coal plants requiring them to reduce emissions of harmful mercury pollution.
Source: NPR
In September 2018, the EPA announced they would no longer uphold a previous ban on the use of hydro-fluorocarbons — ultra-potent greenhouse gases — in appliances like refrigerators and AC units, prompting a lawsuit from several states.
Sources: EPA, New York Attorney General's Office
The EPA has also pushed off compliance reviews for the 2015 Power Plant Water Pollution Rule, which sought to reduce water pollution emitted by steam electric power plants.
Source: Business Insider
Last August, the administration also cut back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards that would have required most new cars to average 54 miles per gallon by 2025, reducing the target to 34 miles per gallon.
Sources: National Geographic, CNBC
It's not just the EPA that has rolled back environmental protection regulations. Under the Trump administration, the Department of the Interior approved offshore drilling in the Arctic, despite warnings from scientists that drilling would harm the environment and wildlife.
Source: New York Times
Trump has also signed executive orders significantly reducing the size of federally-protected national monuments including the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, opening up much of the land for oil drilling.
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