Trump EPA moves to abandon rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot waste arguing that the Biden administration did not have authority to set the tighter standard on toxicity from tailpipes smokestacks and other industrial sources The action follows moves by the administration last week to weaken federal rules protecting millions of acres of wetlands and streams and roll back protections for imperiled species and the places they live In a separate action the Interior Department proposed new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule last year that imposed strict standards for soot waste saying that reducing fine particle matter from motor vehicles and industrial sources could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year Twenty-five Republican-led states and a host of business groups filed lawsuits seeking to block the rule in court A suit led by attorneys general from Kentucky and West Virginia argued that the EPA rule would raise costs for manufacturers utilities and families and could block new manufacturing plants In a court filing this week the EPA essentially took the side of the challengers saying the Biden-era rule was done without the rigorous stepwise process that Congress required and was therefore unlawful Related Articles Dismissal of Comey James cases won t be the final word Here s what the path ahead may look like Specific DACA recipients have been arrested in the Trump s immigration crackdown New limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say let landlords drive up prices Reconstructed road opens grand views at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota ByHeart baby formula from all lots may be contaminated with botulism bacteria tests show EPA now confesses error and urges this Court to vacate the Rule before Feb the agency reported in a brief filed with the U S District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Vacating the Biden-era rule would revert the soot standard to a level established a dozen years ago under the Obama administration The Trump EPA is set to propose its own rule early next year Environmental groups declared the agency s action which follows a pledge by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to roll back the soot rule and dozens of other environmental regulations threatens population wellbeing and undermines its obligations under the Clean Air Act EPA s motion is a blatant attempt to avoid legal requirements for a rollback in this matter for one of the most of impactful actions the agency has taken in newest years to protect citizens fitness stated Hayden Hashimoto an attorney at the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force The rule set maximum levels of micrograms of fine particle garbage per cubic meter of air down from micrograms established under former President Barack Obama The rule sets an air quality level that states and counties must achieve in the coming years to reduce trash from power plants vehicles industrial sites and wildfires An abundance of scientific evidence shows that going back to the previous standard would fail to provide the level of protection for residents wellbeing required under the Clean Air Act Hashimoto announced EPA commented in creating the rule that the new standard would avoid cases of asthma signs hospital visits and premature deaths adding up to about billion in vitality benefits in Then-EPA head Michael Regan disclosed the rule would especially benefit children older adults and those with heart and lung conditions as well as those living near highways factories and power plants Walking away from these clean-air standards doesn t power anything but illness disclosed Patrice Simms vice president of healthy communities at Earthjustice a nonprofit law firm that represents environmental groups in the legal scenario President Donald Trump has made it clear that his agenda is all about saving corporations money Simms mentioned adding under Zeldin the EPA has nothing to do with protecting people s strength saving lives or serving children families or communities Soot made up of tiny toxic particles that lodge deep in the lungs can aftermath in severe strength harms including premature death and comes from sources such as truck exhaust pipes power plants and factories