Coronavirus doesn’t slow environmental rollbacks
WASHINGTON — As much of his government battles the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump is pushing ahead with major reversals of environmental regulations, including a restriction on scientific research that some doctors worry would complicate future pandemic controls.
Federal employees across multiple agencies said the administration was racing to complete a half-dozen significant rollbacks over the coming month. They include a measure to weaken automobile fuel efficiency standards, which one person familiar with the plans said would be issued as early as next week.
Other efforts include loosening controls on toxic ash from coal plants, relaxing restrictions on mercury emissions and weakening the consideration of climate change in environmental reviews for most infrastructure projects.
The aggressive timeline is aimed at shielding the policies from easy reversal if Democrats win the White House or control of the Senate in the 2020 election.
While it is hardly unusual to see a push to finalize policies toward the end of an administration, several agency officials said they were surprised that political leaders had shown no sign of letting up amid the pandemic.
A dozen federal workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about agency work, all described a relentless atmosphere at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department. Several people said they had been told to expect no “slippage” or relaxation of deadlines, although thousands of federal employees, like much of the nation, are working from home and juggling child care and work responsibilities.
The administration also has denied requests to extend public-comment periods in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet in at least one case, a policy to shield oil companies and other businesses from fines if they unintentionally kill birds, the administration has twice requested an extension for legal briefs in the court fight over the policy, citing school closures and other personal challenges posed by the pandemic.
With an election looming, the urgency of completing regulations is real. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can overturn a regulation or federal rule within 60 days of it being finalized. If Democrats win control of the White House and Senate in November, and keep control of the House, any rule completed after late May or early June would be vulnerable.
“The administration understands the electoral map has turned against it,” said Richard Revesz, a professor of environmental law at New York University.
EPA and Interior Department officials said they were sensitive to the circumstances around the coronavirus and would consider delays on a case-by-case basis. But they also emphasized that the administration remained focused on doing its job.
“We understand that COVID-19 has caused disruption in the lives of many Americans, but it is our duty to the American people to ensure we are continuing our work toward protecting human health and the environment,” said Andrea Woods, an EPA spokeswoman, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The administration’s industry allies applauded the push to compete deregulation policies as a way to deliver certainty to businesses when the economy is in free fall.
“The U.S. government clearly is focused on public health and economic stabilization across the board,” said Martin Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute.
Environmental and public health critics accused the Trump administration of taking advantage of the pandemic to barrel ahead while opponents were occupied with the crisis.
“The administration is essentially taking advantage of the fact that the public is distracted and in fact disabled from fully engaging against this ideological push,” said David Hayes, director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the New York University School of Law, which works with attorneys general to challenge environmental rollbacks.
One of the changes pending is an EPA regulation to limit the types of scientific studies the agency can use when writing new or revising existing public health policies. Under the proposal, the EPA might reject or give less weight to studies that do not make underlying data publicly available so the research can be independently replicated.