Whether you agree or not with what the new administration is doing, you have to concede that President Trump and his team are moving the proverbial needle. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime.
EPA has not been immune to these sweeping changes, from Federal staffing and funding reductions to what appears to be some, shall we say, questionable allocations of funds.
But even with those rumblings, if you’re in the environmental field you no doubt felt a tremor in the force yesterday—a whopping 31 actions that are part of the Administration’s plan to “Power the Great American Comeback.” They were summarized in three categories:
· Unleashing American energy
· Lowering the cost of living for American families
· Advancing cooperative Federalism
From a modeling perspective perhaps none will be potentially more impactful than the reconsideration of the PM2.5 Annual NAAQS of 9 ug/m3. In EPA’s press release it’s referred to as the NAAQS that “shut down opportunities for American manufacturing and small businesses.”
Specifically, EPA plans to revisit the PM2.5 Annual NAAQS and issue guidance to increase flexibility and provide clear direction on permitting obligations. What exactly that turns out to be remains to be seen. I do know that the annual AWMA meeting is in Raleigh in a few months, and that EPA modelers are planning to attend (it’s nice and convenient for them), so I’m sure it’ll be a topic of discussion during that gathering.
I’ll be sure to keep folk posted on what I learn, but feel free to reach out to me anytime if you’d like to talk about the possible implications of this.
To hear about it straight from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin himself, and for the full list of what EPA is reconsidering, go here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history