In its recent effort to reduce environmental regulations established during the Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Monday that it will expedite the procedure for industries to circumvent provisions of the Clean Air Act and other regulations aimed at controlling air pollution. The process is as straightforward as sending an email to request a presidential exemption.
Industries seeking to avoid adherence to specific EPA regulations can email the agency, providing a rationale for why they should be granted an exemption and how it aligns with the national security interests of the United States. The EPA’s website states that submitting an email does not automatically guarantee an exemption, but the president “will make a decision” based on the validity of the request.
The EPA explained in a statement to CBS News that section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act “specifically indicates that the President may exempt any stationary source ‘if the President determines that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so.’
However, many environmental advocates were taken aback by this proposal.
“This section of the Clean Air Act is intended to safeguard individuals from exposure to the most hazardous chemicals—those that can be harmful even in the smallest amounts,” stated environmental law expert Michael Gerrard in an email. “It is shocking that the EPA is now providing industries with a straightforward form to evade these regulations and continue releasing harmful substances.”
For years, heavy industries have complied with EPA regulations under the Clean Air Act, leading many companies to invest significantly in costly technologies to minimize toxic air emissions, an investment often criticized as burdensome.
On March 12, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proclaimed the “greatest day of deregulation” and announced the agency’s review of 31 regulations that he claims represent “trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and hidden taxes.” The goal of this deregulation effort is to eliminate costly restraints on the industry. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Zeldin stated, “As we unleash American energy, revive domestic manufacturing, lower family expenses, and uphold the rule of law, we do so with the strong belief that America’s best days are ahead.”
The rollbacks received applause from Republican leaders and industry representatives alike. “The actions taken today by the Trump EPA are exactly what is needed to secure American energy supremacy and restore the communities harmed by the regulations and overreach of the Biden administration,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in a statement. Capito serves as the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the EPA.
Finalizing new rules to decrease environmental compliance costs could take years, not to mention the inevitable legal challenges. To expedite this process, the EPA is offering what some are calling a unique “hall pass,” allowing companies to halt compliance immediately rather than waiting for the completion of updated regulations.
“Under Administrator Zeldin, the EPA has become the Environmental Polluter Agency. His invitation for companies to release arsenic and mercury into the atmosphere under the guise of enhancing ‘national security’ is a severe misapplication of presidential authority,” stated Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in a CBS News statement. Merkley is also a member of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, which prioritizes air pollution legislation.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), another committee member, echoed these concerns: “Trump and his appointees at the EPA are granting the most toxic polluters free rein to contaminate our air,” he said in an email to CBS News. “This is as corrupt as it gets, and nobody can have confidence that either the technology or the national security criteria will be satisfied.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking member of the House Science Committee, remarked, “The notion that a rarely-utilized section of the Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to issue sweeping exemptions to polluting companies merely based on an email request is outrageous. It is clearly illegal—there’s no doubt about that.”
Environmental law specialists anticipate that this policy will face legal challenges. “I have never encountered anything like this before,” said Mary Nichols, a distinguished counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law School. Nichols noted that due to the broad nature of the statute, it is susceptible to misuse. “I predict the initial lawsuit will be a comprehensive challenge to the entire process,” she noted.
CBS News sought clarification from the EPA regarding how the email requests will be processed and evaluated, whether each request would be reviewed individually by President Trump, and how many emails the agency has already received, but the EPA did not respond to these inquiries.
However, sending an email request does create a record that companies may want to consider. “This is information we will fight to make public,” stated Joe Bonfiglio, executive director of the U.S. region of the Environmental Defense Fund, a prominent environmental nonprofit. “For companies that utilize this hall pass, organizations like ours will ensure that communities surrounding those facilities are aware of the requests.”
Companies have until March 31 to submit their email requests to the EPA for the president’s consideration.
