WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets tough standards for deadly , arguing that the Biden administration did not have authority to set the tighter standard on pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources.
The action follows moves by the administration last week to weaken federal rules and roll back and the places they live. In a separate action, the Interior Department proposed 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 for soot pollution, 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 . 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 鈥渨ithout the rigorous, stepwise process that Congress required鈥� and was therefore unlawful.
鈥淓PA now confesses error and urges this Court to vacate the Rule” before Feb. 7, the agency said 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 . The Trump EPA is set to propose its own rule early next year.
Environmental groups said the agency’s action 鈥� which follows a to roll back the soot rule and dozens of other environmental regulations 鈥� threatens public health and undermines its obligations under the Clean Air Act.
鈥淓PA鈥檚 motion is a blatant attempt to avoid legal requirements for a rollback, in this case for one of the most impactful actions the agency has taken in recent years to protect public health,鈥� said Hayden Hashimoto, an attorney at the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force.
EPA press secretary Carolyn Holran said the 2024 rule would cost 鈥渉undreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to American citizens if allowed to be implemented.鈥� The rule 鈥渨as not based on the full analysis of available science that the statute requires,鈥� she said, adding that EPA will conduct a thorough review as required by the Clean Air Act.
The Biden rule set maximum levels of 9 micrograms of fine particle pollution per cubic meter of air, down from 12 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 pollution from power plants, vehicles, industrial sites and wildfires.
鈥淎n abundance of scientific evidence shows that going back to the previous standard would fail to provide the level of protection for public health required under the Clean Air Act,鈥� Hashimoto said.
EPA said in creating the rule that the new standard would avoid 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms, 2,000 hospital visits and 4,500 premature deaths, adding up to about $46 billion in health benefits in 2032. Then-EPA head Michael Regan said 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鈥檛 power anything but disease,鈥� said Patrice Simms, vice president of healthy communities at Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm that represents environmental groups in the legal case.
President Donald Trump 鈥渉as made it clear that his agenda is all about saving corporations money,鈥� Simms said, adding under Zeldin, the EPA 鈥渉as nothing to do with protecting people鈥檚 health, saving lives or serving children, families or communities.”
Soot, made up of tiny toxic particles that lodge deep in the lungs, can result in severe health harms, including premature death, and comes from sources such as vehicle exhaust pipes, power plants, and factories.
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