The Trump administration’s sweeping funding reductions could imperil its own plans for a series of Clean Air Act rollbacks, a group that represents state and local air regulators told Senate appropriators.
“State and local air agency expertise and engagement is critical for the development of successful regulatory/deregulatory programs,” Morgan Dickie, executive director of the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies, wrote in testimony released this week to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment.
“Given the Administration’s emphasis on domestic manufacturing and needed increases in electrical generation,” Dickie added, “the most efficient mechanism to meet the CAA requirements for new manufacturing and energy projects is by working with state and local air agencies.”
As part of a bid to slash EPA’s core budget by more than half in fiscal 2026, the White House wants to zero out the $235.6 million in federal grants that state and local air regulators are receiving this year.
