EPA is about to lose a major tool that allows it to keep energy costs low and regulate pollution. The pending repeal of EPA’s Endangerment Finding will make our air dirtier, our energy more expensive, and our planet less healthy. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Trump are behind this effort to enrich Big Polluters at our expense. Here’s what you need to know.

EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding shows greenhouse gas emissions are bad for public health based on decades of scientific evidence. Since it was enacted, it has provided legal and scientific support for rules that limit toxic air pollution under the 1970 Clean Air Act.

If the Trump Administration rescinds the Endangerment Finding, the government would effectively be saying greenhouse gas emissions don’t harm human health. But they do. Repealing it is all a part of their plan to give polluters free rein to dump as many toxic emissions into our air and water as they want.

At its core, repealing the Endangerment Finding is a giveaway to polluting industries. The oil and gas industries’ ultimate goal is to maximize profits, and EPA is supposed to make sure they don’t harm communities. Lee Zeldin and Donald Trump are trying to give these industries a free pass to pollute as much as they want and ignore their impact on our health and the price we pay for energy. 

This action fits into the administration’s larger plan to get rid of health and safety guidelines to benefit Big Polluters. It is the latest in a slew of anti-environmental, pro-polluter actions coming out of the Trump administration, including:

In theory, getting rid of the Endangerment Finding is difficult, thanks to decades of science and court rulings supporting it.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. In 2012, this ruling was upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court. In the years since, the negative impacts of greenhouse gas pollution on our health have become more and more obvious.

But, pro-Trump Justices dominate the Supreme Court and Trump is quickly appointing more political extremists to federal judicial positions. Some of them have already used their positions to support President Trump’s agenda instead of following the law, or in some cases, the Constitution. And Trump himself has flat-out ignored the law and many court rulings that aren’t favorable to his agenda. So, while the Endangerment Finding is on solid legal and scientific footing, that doesn’t mean much to an administration known to flout both the law and science.

Repealing the Endangerment Finding would have major impacts for all of us, including:

Already, EPA Administrator Zeldin is using this proposal to suggest rolling back rules that limit vehicle pollution. This would remove the motivation for auto-makers to make fuel-efficient cars. That means the cost of driving would go up, as we’d need to buy more gas, more often. It also means vehicles would spew out more pollution, making our air dirtier and worsening health conditions like asthma. Rolling back vehicle pollution standards would disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and low-income communities who tend to live closer to highways and power plants.

Repealing the Endangerment Finding is Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin’s core strike against climate protections. They’ve already gone after mercury and air toxics and greenhouse gas emissions standards from power plants. Unfortunately, we know this is just the beginning.

Before they can rescind the rule, EPA must hold a comment period where people can express their opinions on the proposal. This is our opportunity to make all our voices heard and flood the EPA with comments opposing this action. Submit a comment today to tell the EPA to reject the proposal!

LCV’s Darien Davis, Government Affairs Advocate, will be testifying against the proposal at EPA’s virtual hearing this week. Join us in standing up to the Trump administration and speaking out against this dangerous attack on our communities and climate.