The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on the verge of finalizing its sweeping rollback of the endangerment finding in a move that would help President Donald Trump topple multiple rules aimed at forcing American industries to reduce their carbon emissions. EPA’s proposal centers on a new statutory interpretation of the agency’s Clean Air Act authorities, as well as a climate report written by five climate contrarians assembled by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Bracewell’s Jeff Holmstead, who served as EPA’s air chief under President George W. Bush, told E&E News he was “pretty confident they’ll rely on the legal rationale” in the final repeal – and not the contrarians’ climate report.
“If they’re basing it entirely on their legal rationale, they may still want to sort of downplay the science. But they don’t have an obligation to respond to all the scientific arguments that were made,” said Holmstead.
