What does Lee Zeldin’s EPA rollback mean to Americans?
Lee Zeldin has announced that the Environmental Protection Agency will roll back regulations aimed at fighting climate change and pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced two major proposals on Wednesday to undermine pollution standards at fossil fuel power plants as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to restore coal.
The proposal includes abolishing all greenhouse gas standards and another to roll back Biden-era restrictions on mercury and soot from the country’s dirtyest coal plants. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, and mercury toxins can cause brain damage.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin justified the move by attending a press conference with Republican lawmakers and several members of Navajo Nation’s Buu Nygren, citing the country’s ambitions for energy control and rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers.
“Data centers that support AI alone will consume 10% of the US energy supply within 10 years,” Zeldin said. “Right now it’s about 3-4% of the US electricity demand.”
He also said the administration is removing these Obama-Biden-era rules and directly attacking central parts of the Biden administration’s climate policy, including stricter pollution restrictions on mercury and particulate matter pollution, and easing fossil fuel power plants from the burden of regulation.
The public comment period follows the proposed repeal, followed by the EPA will then modify the rules and finalize it. However, legal challenges can complicate the process.
Critics of the Trump administration’s energy policy say they are worried because they don’t take into account the health impact on communities, low-income families living near power plants.
The move also comes as decades of progress to clean the air is frequently faced with threats from desolate wildfire cities and towns.
“Rolling back this life-saving renewal is a serious mistake that exposes people to toxic contamination that has been proven to harm brain development, cause asthma attacks, and cause cancer and premature death,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, in a statement.
EPA data shows that the power plant is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after vehicle exhaust. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, the power plant released around 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2023. The agency did not release a full count of all emissions for 2023. However, data for 2022 shows that the electricity sector made up a quarter of US emissions that year.
“The government, which acted in good faith to address the challenges of climate change, told USA Today via email to Joseph Goffman, a former assistant manager at the EPA office that oversees air pollution regulations.
“But this administration is not a sincere actor and certainly not acting to protect Americans,” Goffman said.
USA Today previously reported that President Donald Trump granted exemptions to more than 60 power plants.
Under the proposal made on June 11th, plants are not required to comply with the Biden Update’s pollution restrictions. Zeldin noted that effective mercury contamination restrictions remained after 2012.
EPA regulations have seen a decline in power plants over the past decade. But experts say the administration’s moves could put that progress at risk.
During Trump’s inauguration, the president declared a national energy emergency and signed an executive order in the second half of April to boost the coal industry amid rising power demand for artificial intelligence data centers.
Revival efforts are being made as fossil fuels, especially coal, are phased out due to their ability to reduce costs and harmful emissions of renewable energy.
Find the coal plant closest to below. The size of a circle represents the amount of carbon emissions.
A recent report from the International Energy Agency predicts that “power demand from data centers around the world will be doubled by 2030.” Artificial intelligence will become the most important driver, the report says.
In May, the Department of Energy ordered two fossil fuel plants to remain operational until summer, despite previous plans last month.
JH Campbell, a Michigan coal-fired power plant, was scheduled to retire in May. Pennsylvania’s Eddystone Power Plant had planned to close its gas units in May.
The Department of Energy order requires operators to “run for 90 days to minimize the risk of generation shortages.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report that the country’s electricity prices in 2024 were cheaper and less volatile than before.
Greenhouse gas restrictions and the repeal of the updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standard and the updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standard can save $1.2 billion and $120 million in regulatory costs, respectively, according to the EPA.
“American families will pay for these rollbacks on emergency room visits, higher healthcare bills that missed workdays and missed school day,” said Michelle Ruth, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, a group of former EPA staffers.
“The only people who benefit from these rollbacks are the biggest emitters of toxic contamination who don’t want to install clean technology,” Ruth said.
