The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Feb. 12 that it would repeal the endangerment finding, a previous EPA finding that served as the basis for much of the United States’ environmental regulation.
The endangerment finding was established under the Obama administration in 2009. It declares that various greenhouse gases, such as those emitted by cars and factories, “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.” The finding allowed the EPA to regulate emission standards for vehicles and other sectors.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release that he was proud to deliver the “single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.”
“The Endangerment Finding has been the source of 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” Zeldin said in the press release. “Referred to by some as the ‘Holy Grail’ of the ‘climate change religion,’ the Endangerment Finding is now eliminated. The Trump EPA is strictly following the letter of the law, returning commonsense to policy, delivering consumer choice to Americans and advancing the American Dream.”
Legislators and officials from Connecticut denounced the decision in a press release. Gov. Ned Lamont said repealing this finding proved the Trump administration does “not care about the impacts greenhouse gas emissions have on the health of our communities,” particularly in vulnerable populations.
“This is settled science. Connecticut has a proud, bipartisan history of standing up for environmental safeguards, and we will fight this decision, just like we have done every time this administration has threatened the health and prosperity of the people of Connecticut,” Lamont said. “Connecticut residents deserve clean air to breathe, and safe communities in which to live and raise a family.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said Trump was selling out future generations in pursuit of profit for fossil fuel companies and polluters. However, he also said “the science and the law are firmly on our side.”
“The next step is now the legal fight in court and, just as we won the first round before EPA – forcing it to drop its shoddy science – we are confident we can win round two,” Tong said. “We will be in this fight for as long as it takes.”
Katie Dykes, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner, said repealing the finding could come at a great cost to Connecticut.
“The evidence is even clearer now than it was in 2009, greenhouse gases pollute the air and contribute significantly to poor air quality. Connecticut suffers from some of the worst air quality in the United States, and greenhouse gas emissions, including from vehicles, contribute to air pollution that exacerbates respiratory illness, resulting in tens of millions of dollars spent on related healthcare costs in our state every year,” Dykes said.
Dykes also said this action could put Connecticut at a larger risk for climate impacts, such as extreme weather.
Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said this decision would come at the expense of more vulnerable populations. She pointed out that Black women and children are the most affected by problems exacerbated by poor air quality, such as asthma.
Juthani also said that rescinding the finding was especially dangerous in conjunction with other Trump administration policies.
“The administration’s planned cuts to Medicaid will result in decreased access to care for respiratory illness in communities with the greatest need, at the same time they are proactively attacking public health by abandoning efforts to protect the air we breathe,” Juthani said.
Environmental advocates and states are expected to challenge the EPA’s repealing of the endangerment finding in court.