Prof. James Coleman Quoted by E&E News About the EPA’s Attempt to Rollback Regulations

Professor James Coleman was interviewed by E&E News about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to rollback regulations. This week the administrator for the EPA, Lee Zeldin, offered few details on how the agency plans to dismantle dozens of climate, air and energy rules — and the science underpinning those regulations — particularly in light of the Trump administration’s push to shed thousands of EPA staffers and 65 percent of the agency’s budget. Each rollback EPA pursues must show that the repeal is not arbitrary under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and aligns with congressional authority. Prof. Coleman said that one way the EPA may try to sidestep the traditional rulemaking process could be to issue interim final rules, like the White House Council on Environmental Quality did to undo its National Environmental Policy Act regulations. The Council on Environmental Quality cited a “good cause” exemption to the APA, allowing it to quickly finalize the rule rescission. The EPA would have to do the same. But this approach may not hold up in court.