EPA officials were met with criticism Tuesday about the agency’s plans to repeal a landmark 2009 scientific finding that underpins most greenhouse gas regulations.
A panel of agency career officials began hearing public comment on EPA’s plan to rescind the endangerment finding along with a greenhouse gas rule for cars and trucks, with additional hearings set virtually for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The agency is also accepting written comment through Sept. 22, while the Department of Energy is taking comment through Sept. 2 on a related report that seeks to refute the scientific consensus that human emissions are driving dangerous climate change.
Hundreds of participants who signed up to testify about the effects of the two proposed repeals were allotted 2½ minutes to speak. Most were environmentalists, public health advocates, state and local officials, and others who urged EPA to abandon its plans to undo the finding and the Biden-era rules for cars and trucks — the largest U.S. contributor to climate pollution.
EPA’s draft reversal of the scientific finding relied mainly on legal arguments that the Clean Air Act didn’t authorize the agency to regulate greenhouse gases. But commenters argued that EPA had ample authority to regulate the warming gases.
