{"slug":"trump-deregulation-environment-rollbacks","title":"Environmental Deregulation: 100+ Rules Rolled Back Across Four Years","date":"2017-01-25","lastUpdated":"2020-12-01","description":"The Trump administration conducted the most systematic rollback of environmental regulations in modern U.S. history. The New York Times and Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law tracked more than 100 environmental rules that were rolled back across four years. Rollbacks included weakening Obama-era greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, allowing mercury emissions from power plants, weakening the Clean Water Act's reach over wetlands and streams, reducing fuel efficiency standards, opening Arctic and offshore areas to drilling, and weakening protections for endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.","summary":"The administration's approach was systematic: identify Obama-era environmental regulations, determine legal and administrative mechanisms for reversal, and implement reversals. The rollbacks covered air quality, water quality, climate, wildlife, and chemical safety. The vehicle emissions standards rollback was estimated to add approximately one billion tons of additional carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2035. Courts overturned many of the rollbacks, finding procedural defects. The Biden administration reversed the majority of the remaining reversals. The cumulative effect on environmental law precedent and the transition costs of the repeated changes were lasting.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html","title":"The Trump Administration Is Reversing 100 Environmental Rules. Here's the Full List.","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/trump-environment-rollbacks/2020/10/30/story.html","title":"Trump has gutted more than 125 environmental rules. Here's what's gone.","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-environmental-rollbacks-deregulation","title":"AP analysis: Trump administration reversed environmental rules","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://climate.law.columbia.edu/tracking-deregulation-trump-era","title":"Tracking Deregulation in the Trump Era","publisher":"Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["environment","deregulation","climate","EPA","first-term","emissions","Clean-Water-Act"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-01-25","title":"Executive orders on energy — federal lands opened","summary":"Trump signs executive orders directing federal agencies to facilitate energy production on public lands and waters, opening the regulatory process for fossil fuel production increases."},{"date":"2017-03-28","title":"Obama clean power plan ordered reviewed — rollback begins","summary":"Trump signs executive order directing EPA to review and rescind the Obama Clean Power Plan — the primary federal climate regulation covering power plant emissions."},{"date":"2018-08-02","title":"Vehicle emissions standards weakened — 1 billion additional tons CO2","summary":"Administration proposes freezing Obama-era fuel efficiency standards at 2020 levels rather than continuing to increase them through 2025; analysts estimate approximately 1 billion additional tons of CO2 by 2035."},{"date":"2020-01-23","title":"WOTUS rule rolled back — millions of wetland acres lose protection","summary":"EPA finalizes the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, removing federal clean water protections from millions of acres of wetlands and hundreds of thousands of miles of streams."},{"date":"2020-08-12","title":"Endangered Species Act protections weakened","summary":"Administration finalizes rule revisions to the Endangered Species Act allowing economic factors in listing decisions and weakening critical habitat designations."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change","article":"Article 4","provision":"National policies to mitigate climate change — systematic rollback of vehicle and power plant emissions standards directly increased U.S. greenhouse gas emissions"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Communities located near power plants and industrial facilities with relaxed emissions standards; future generations bearing the impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions; wildlife species affected by weakened Endangered Species Act protections; wetlands and waterways under reduced Clean Water Act jurisdiction","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; directed systematic environmental deregulation; appointed industry-aligned officials to lead EPA and Interior Department","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Scott Pruitt","role":"EPA Administrator 2017–2018; resigned amid corruption scandals; oversaw major regulatory rollbacks before resignation","institution":"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency"},{"name":"Andrew Wheeler","role":"EPA Administrator 2018–2021; former coal industry lobbyist; continued and expanded regulatory rollback after Pruitt resignation","institution":"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-12-01","summary":"Updated with full count of rolled-back rules."}]}}