EPA plans to take down another pillar offering aid to underserved communities struggling with pollution, a longtime target of the Trump administration.
The agency on Tuesday sent a rule for review to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that would rescind parts of EPA’s nondiscrimination regulations, according to an online notice.
The rollback would align the agency with an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year to cut the use of “disparate impacts” — where neutral rules are found to adversely affect people based on race, sex and other protected classes — in government policy.
EPA has relied on disparate impact analysis to elevate environmental justice work, aiming to ensure federal relief reaches low-income and minority areas. During the Biden administration, the agency found Black residents in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” faced high health risks. The investigation was later closed after blowback from Republican elected officials in and outside the state.
