The EPA administrator announced 31 deregulatory actions the agency will prioritize.
On March 12, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a video and accompanying press release from Administrator Lee Zeldin identifying a list of 31 actions the EPA plans to take that are designed to “unleash American energy, lower cost of living for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.”
The 31 actions implicate a range of sectors, with an emphasis on the energy sector, including oil and gas and power generation. The actions also implicate the transportation and manufacturing sectors, among others.
The list of regulations and standards identified for reconsideration includes:
- Clean Air Act greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations governing power plants (see our blog post on the Biden administration regulations) and the oil and gas sector
- Other Clean Air Act regulations and standards, including the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants, the Good Neighbor Plan regarding interstate air emissions transport, and certain actions involving the Regional Haze Program, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
- GHG reporting requirements
- Clean Water Act effluent limitation guidelines for several source categories
- Coal Combustion Residual regulations (see our blog post on the Biden administration regulations)
- Light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle regulations under the Clean Air Act
The EPA also announced its intention to reconsider the agency’s 2009 finding that GHGs in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare and to overhaul Social Cost of Carbon metrics.
The EPA’s announcement does not result in any immediate changes to or recission of EPA regulations. Implementing many of these actions will require the EPA to engage in the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, make formal determinations, or conduct other proceedings. These processes are projected to play out over a period of months, potentially up to a year or more. Litigation commonly follows EPA rulemakings and would be expected to follow final actions here.
Latham & Watkins will continue to monitor all EPA developments.