EPA’s Purpose Radically Changed
Since the Trump administration took over in January, keeping up with and reporting on all of the geopolitical, economic and legal ramifications has been beyond my capabilities. But I am going to try to keep an eye on the environmental aspects of the changes. As an environmentalist, they are frightening to me. I remember the many environmental problems before the EPA was created.
Trumps EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was sworn in on January 29th, and has been trying to reframe the purpose of the agency towards deregulation of environmental and energy production and away from environmental and public health protection—saying on X that the agency’s mission is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home, and running a business.”. He announced plans to repeal dozens of major environmental regulations, including protections protection of wetlands, limits on tail pipe and smokestack pollution, and the endangerment finding—the legal basis for regulation of greenhouse gases now heating the planet.
None of these announcements carry the force of law, and the efforts will have to undergo a lengthy process of public comment and show environmental and economic justifications to the change. Environmentalists are understandably upset about turning the EPA away from its original purpose of protecting of the health of people and the environment. They say that Zeldin lied during his confirmation hearings when he said he would respect science and listen to the experts, who agree that climate change is real. The experts also say that climate change is responsible for the hottest temperatures in recorded history going back centuries and that it is responsible for 27 disasters in 2024 that cost at least $1billion each, compared to three in 1980. `
Additionally, the EPA announced that when they create environmental policy, they will no longer consider costs to society from wildfires, droughts, storms and other disaster that could be made worse by pollution connected to that policy.
The EPA also recently announced that they will stop all its Environmental Justice programs, saying that they are part of Biden’s DEI programming and take away from funds used to directly remediate environmental issues in communities. The goal has been to give aid to underserved communities and communities of color that have been disproportionately harmed by toxic pollutants from factories and refineries in their communities. Environmental Justice staff have all been put on administrative leave and their 11 offices throughout the US are closed. Hundreds of grants have also been cancelled by the EPA, many of which were environmental justice grants.
I am sure that these actions will lead to many complaints and lawsuits, as have so many of the Trump administration actions—124 lawsuits filed as of March 11, including 2 closed cases. The Supreme Court has begun to weigh in, siding once with the Administration and twice against it. Some of the Administration’s actions have been partially blocked or overturned, at least temporarily. Stay tuned…and let you congressional and senate representative know how you feel. Join KEC and other local organizations to strategize how we can make a difference by our own actions.
Source: The New York Times—March 11,12 & 14, 2025)