"Most Consequential Day of Deregulation" - 31 Environmental Rules Targeted

Event Summary

March 12, 2025 marked what environmental law experts called the "most consequential day of deregulation" in modern American history. The Trump administration targeted 31 key environmental rules for rollback, elimination, or weakening, representing a systematic assault on 50+ years of environmental protection.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly declared the administration's intent to eliminate the scientific foundation of climate regulation, calling the 2009 endangerment finding "the Holy Grail of the climate change religion" and vowing to "drive a dagger straight into the heart" of climate protections.

The 31 Rules Targeted - March 12, 2025

The scope was comprehensive:

Soot pollution limits (would prevent 4,500 premature deaths annually)
Vehicle emissions standards (cars, trucks, heavy-duty vehicles)
Power plant emissions regulations
Coal plant wastewater effluent standards
Clean Water Act jurisdiction (wetlands, streams)
PFAS ("forever chemicals") drinking water protections
TCE (trichloroethylene) risk management in communities
Greenhouse gas reporting requirements
Renewable energy standards
Energy efficiency requirements

Legal Underpinning: All these rules trace authority back to the 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. Without this finding, EPA cannot regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.

Attack on Science - Endangerment Finding

July 29, 2025: EPA formally proposed repealing the 2009 endangerment finding—the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

If successful, this would:

Eliminate legal basis for regulating emissions from ALL sources
Prevent EPA from regulating vehicle emissions
Prevent EPA from regulating power plant emissions
Invalidate current Clean Air Act authority for 31 targeted rules
Make it virtually impossible to regulate CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin:

Called endangerment finding "Holy Grail of the climate change religion"
Said administration would "drive a dagger straight into the heart" of it
Characterized climate science as religious belief rather than scientific consensus

Scientific Consensus: 2009 endangerment finding based on exhaustive review by EPA scientists and the National Academies of Science, documenting:

Warming of climate system is unequivocal
Human activities are the primary cause
Observed impacts on public health and welfare
Projected impacts include heat waves, flooding, drought, wildfires, disease spread

Environmental Justice Systematically Eliminated

February 11, 2025: The administration eliminated all environmental justice infrastructure simultaneously:

All DEI and environmental justice employees placed on administrative leave
All environmental justice offices closed "immediately"
All staff positions eliminated
400 grants cancelled even after federal court orders blocking cancellations
Climate and environmental justice screening tool eliminated

Environmental Justice Background: Federal environmental justice programs, mandated by Executive Order 12898 (1994), required federal agencies to address disproportionate environmental and health impacts on minority and low-income communities. Communities of color experience:

Higher exposure to air pollution
Higher rates of asthma and respiratory illness
Proximity to toxic waste sites and industrial facilities
Less access to safe drinking water

Grant Cancellations: 400 grants cancelled in violation of court orders demonstrate defiance of judicial authority—a pattern established in January 2025 and continued throughout the year.

Workforce Destruction

February 27, 2025:

~800 NOAA employees fired (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
NOAA conducts essential climate and weather research
Weather forecasting, hurricane tracking, ocean monitoring compromised

EPA Workforce Cuts: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced agency workforce cuts of "65% or so"

Career scientists and regulatory experts eliminated
Decades of institutional knowledge lost
Enforcement capacity crippled

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund ($27 Billion):

Director placed on administrative leave
Funding frozen
Clean energy projects stalled nationwide
Private investment in climate solutions blocked

Additional Environmental Infrastructure Attacks

NIH Indirect Cost Rate Slashing (February 7, 2025):

Changed maximum rate from 50% to 15%
Slashes university funding for facilities and administrative expenses
Compromises climate and environmental research at universities nationwide
Federal judge temporarily blocked nationwide, but policy represents intent to eliminate climate research funding

Climate Science Suppression: Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated Trump administration views climate change as "a side effect of building the modern world"

DOE Report (July 2025): Claims "CO2-induced warming appears less damaging economically than commonly believed"—direct contradiction of climate economics literature, EPA assessments, and National Climate Assessments

Regulatory Rollback Details

10-to-1 Deregulation Initiative (January 31, 2025): Executive order requiring agencies to eliminate 10 regulations for every 1 new regulation created, regardless of public benefit, scientific necessity, or legal requirements under statutes like Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act.

Vehicle Emissions Rollback:

Standards weakened for model years 2027-2032
Would result in additional 2+ billion tons of CO2 through 2055
Fuel efficiency requirements reduced
Electric vehicle mandates delayed/eliminated

Coal Plant Wastewater: Weakened Obama-era limits on toxic metals (mercury, arsenic, selenium) from coal plant wastewater discharge into rivers and streams. Directly benefits coal industry while poisoning drinking water sources for downstream communities.

PFAS Protection Delays: PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances)—"forever chemicals" linked to cancer, thyroid disease, immune system damage—regulatory protections delayed despite contamination of drinking water affecting 200+ million Americans.

TCE Risk Management Delays: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is industrial degreaser linked to cancer, fetal heart defects, neurological damage. EPA delayed risk management rules despite overwhelming scientific evidence of harm.

Agency Gutting and Political Capture

EPA Budget Proposal (March 2025):

35% budget cut proposed for fiscal year 2026
Climate and clean energy programs zeroed out
Environmental enforcement budget reduced 24%
Scientific research funding cut 50%

Political Appointees Overrule Scientists: Career scientists' findings overridden by political appointees in multiple instances:

Mercury emissions standards weakened despite EPA scientists' recommendations
Particulate matter (soot) standard weakened despite public health evidence
Superfund cleanup standards lowered for polluting industries

Scientific Advisory Boards Dismantled:

EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee members replaced with industry representatives
Advisory boards for particulate matter, ozone, and other pollutants eliminated
Independent scientific review replaced with political oversight

International and Structural Impacts

Paris Agreement Withdrawal (Again): Second withdrawal (first: 2017, rejoined: 2021, withdrew again: 2025) eliminates US leadership on global climate action

Green Climate Fund: US ceased contributions, withdrawing support for developing nations' climate adaptation

Economic Impacts:

Clean energy jobs (fastest-growing sector) at risk
US competitiveness in renewable energy technology declining
China and EU gaining market share in solar, wind, battery technology
Domestic manufacturing jobs lost as clean energy projects cancelled

Climate Tipping Points Context

Scientists' Warnings (2025): Global emissions must peak by 2025 and decline rapidly to avoid:

1.5°C warming threshold (likely exceeded within 5 years)
2.0°C warming threshold (requires immediate action)
Irreversible tipping points: ice sheet collapse, Amazon rainforest dieback, permafrost methane release, ocean circulation changes

US Role: As world's largest cumulative emitter and second-largest current emitter, US action essential to global emissions trajectory. March 12 rollbacks guarantee emissions will not peak as required by climate science.

Legal Challenges

Immediate Lawsuits Filed:

18 states sued over vehicle emissions rollback
Environmental groups sued over power plant standards
Public health organizations sued over soot standards
All cases pending as of December 2025

Administrative Procedure Act Violations: Multiple rollbacks likely violate Administrative Procedure Act requirements for reasoned decision-making based on scientific evidence. However, Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision (eliminating Chevron deference) may complicate challenges.

Timeline of Environmental Destruction

January 20: Paris Agreement withdrawal (again)

January 31: 10-to-1 deregulation order

February 7: NIH indirect cost slashing (affects climate research)

February 11: Environmental justice elimination

February 27: NOAA workforce gutted

March 12: 31 rules targeted - "most consequential deregulation day"

March 12: EPA workforce cuts announced (65%)

July 29: Endangerment finding repeal proposed

Throughout 2025: Individual rule rollbacks implemented