Environmental groups sue EPA over illegal repeal of climate regulations

(TNND) — Public health and environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday for repealing its scientific determination that greenhouse gases cause climate change and threaten public health and welfare.

The legal challenge filed in the D.C. Circuit challenges President Donald Trump’s rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding last week and argues that under the Clean Air Act, “the EPA is legally required to limit vehicle emissions of any ‘air pollutant’ that the agency determines ’cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.'”

Clean vehicle standards imposed by the Biden administration were set to “deliver the single biggest cut to U.S. carbon pollution in history, save lives and save Americans hard-earned money on gas,” the coalition said.

After nearly two decades of scientific evidence supporting the 2009 finding, “the agency cannot credibly claim that the body of work is now incorrect,” Brian Lynk, a senior attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said. “This reckless and legally untenable decision creates immediate uncertainty for businesses, guarantees prolonged legal battles and undermines the stability of federal climate regulations.

The case was brought by groups including the American Public Health Association, American Lung Association, Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment and Physicians for Social Responsibility, along with environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club.

Trump said when announcing the appeal that the “disastrous” policy damaged the American auto industry and drove up prices for American consumers.

“It has nothing to do with public health. This was all a scam, a giant scam. This was a ripoff of the country by Obama and Biden. Let’s say Obama started it and got it rolling,” Trump said.

The named defendants in the suit are EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the EPA itself.

Zeldin claimed the endangerment finding “led to trillions of dollars in regulations that strangled entire sectors of the United States economy, including the American auto industry.”

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is legally required to limit emissions of any air pollutant that causes or contributes to “air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”

In 2007, the Supreme Court held in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act and told EPA to determine, based on the science, if that pollution endangers human health and welfare. EPA made that determination in 2009, which led to new standards for vehicles. It built on that finding when issuing other standards.

The EPA’s own analysis found that eliminating the vehicle standards will increase gas prices, forcing Americans to spend more on fuel, according to advocates.