The energy industry expressed apprehension Wednesday over the Trump administration’s bid to effectively end federal climate regulation.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has told the White House he wants to ditch the 2009 endangerment finding that made Clean Air Act climate rules possible, according to sources granted anonymity because the decision wasn’t public. But fossil fuel companies and utilities are worried that effort could wipe out the regulatory certainty key to their bottom lines.
“I know that industry groups have been asking the Trump folks not to reverse the endangerment finding,” said Jeff Holmstead, a partner with Bracewell, in an email to POLITICO’s E&E News.
“There is great concern that reversing the finding would open the door to a lot more nuisance lawsuits against all types of energy companies — and it would eliminate one of the best arguments that oil companies have used to get lawsuits against them dismissed,” he said.
