Our Mission
TRUMP'S CASUALTIES – 100 ENVIRONMENTAL ROLLBACKS
AIR POLLUTION AND EMISSIONS
(Completed)
1. Weakened Obama-era fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for passenger cars and light trucks.
2. Revoked California’s power to set stricter tailpipe emissions standards than the federal government.
3. Withdrew the legal justification for an Obama-era rule that limited mercury emissions from coal power plants.
4. Replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which would have set strict limits on carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, with a new version that would let states set their own rules.
5. Canceled a requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions.
6. Revised and partially repealed an Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions on public lands, including intentional venting and flaring from drilling operations.
7. Loosened a Clinton-era rule designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters.
8. Revised a program designed to safeguard communities from increases in pollution from new power plants to make it easier for facilities to avoid emissions regulations.
9. Amended rules that govern how refineries monitor pollution in surrounding communities.
10. Weakened an Obama-era rule meant to reduce air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas.
11. Weakened oversight of some state plans for reducing air pollution in national parks.
12. Relaxed air pollution regulations for a handful of plants that burn waste coal for electricity.
13. Repealed rules meant to reduce leaking and venting of powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons from large refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
14. Directed agencies to stop using an Obama-era calculation of the social cost of carbon that rulemakers used to estimate the long-term economic benefits of reducing carbon
dioxide emissions.
15. Withdrew guidance directing federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews. But several district courts have ruled that emissions must be included in such reviews.
16. Revoked an Obama executive order that set a goal of cutting the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent over 10 years.
17. Repealed a requirement that state and regional authorities track tailpipe emissions from vehicles on federal highways.
18. Lifted a summertime ban on the use of E15, a gasoline blend made of 15 percent ethanol. (Burning gasoline with a higher concentration of ethanol in hot conditions increases smog.)
19. Changed rules to allow states and the E.P.A. to take longer to develop and approve plans aimed at cutting methane emissions from existing landfills.
(In progress)
20. Submitted notice of intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. (The process of withdrawing cannot be completed until November 2020.)
21. Proposed relaxing Obama-era requirements that companies monitor and repair methane leaks at oil and gas facilities.
22. Proposed eliminating Obama-era restrictions that, in effect, required newly built coal power plants to capture carbon dioxide emissions.
23. Proposed revisions to standards for carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified and reconstructed power plants.
24. Began a review of emissions rules for power plant start-ups, shutdowns and malfunctions. One outcome of that review: In February 2020, E.P.A. reversed a requirement that Texas follow emissions rules during certain malfunction events.
25. Opened for comment a proposal limiting the ability of individuals and communities to challenge E.P.A.-issued pollution permits before a panel of agency judges.
26. Delayed issuing a rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. (The E.P.A. acknowledged it is legally required to issue the rule, but has not done so yet. The delay is being challenged by environmental groups.)
27. Proposed limiting pesticide application buffer zones that are intended to protect farmworkers and bystanders from accidental exposure.
DRILLING AND EXTRACTION
(Completed)
28. Made significant cuts to the borders of two national monuments in Utah and recommended border and resource-management changes to several more.
29. Lifted ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
30. Rescinded water pollution regulations for fracking on federal and Indian lands.
31. Scrapped a proposed rule that required mines to prove they could pay to clean up future pollution.
32. Withdrew a requirement that Gulf oil rig owners prove they can cover the costs of removing rigs once they stop producing.
33. Moved the permitting process for certain projects that cross international borders, such as oil pipelines, to the office of the president from the State Department, exempting them from environmental review.
34. Changed how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission considers the indirect effects of greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews of pipelines.
35. Revoked an Obama-era executive order designed to preserve ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters in favor of a policy focused on energy production and economic growth.
36. Permitted the use of seismic air guns for gas and oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean. The practice, which can kill marine life and disrupt fisheries, was blocked under the Obama administration.
37. Loosened offshore drilling safety regulations implemented by the Obama after following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, including reduced testing requirements for blowout prevention systems.
38. Lifted an Obama-era freeze on new coal leases on public lands. In April 2019, a judge ruled that the Interior Department could not begin selling new leases without completing an environmental review. In February, the agency published an assessment that concluded restarting federal coal leasing would have little environmental impact.
(In Progress)
39. Approved construction of the Dakota Access pipeline less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. (The Obama administration had halted the project, with the Army Corps of Engineers saying it would explore alternative routes). But, following a lengthy legal battle, in July 2020 a federal judge ruled the pipeline must be shut down and drained of oil while the Corps completes a review of its impact on the environment.
40. Proposed opening most of America’s coastal waters to offshore oil and gas drilling but delayed the plan after a federal judge ruled that Mr. Trump’s reversal of an Obama-era ban on drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans was unlawful.
41. Repealed an Obama-era rule governing royalties for oil, gas and coal leases on federal lands, which replaced a 1980s rule that critics said allowed companies to underpay the federal government. A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s repeal. The Interior Department is reviewing the decision.
42. Proposed revising regulations on offshore oil and gas exploration by floating vessels in the Arctic that were developed after a 2013 accident. The Interior Department previously said it was “considering full rescission or revision of this rule.”
43. Proposed “streamlining” the approval process for drilling for oil and gas in national forests.
44. Proposed opening more land in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve for oil drilling. The Obama administration had designated about half of the reserve as a conservation area.
45. Proposed lifting a Clinton-era policy that banned logging and road construction in Tongass National Forest, Alaska.
46. Approved the Keystone XL pipeline rejected by President Barack Obama, but a federal judge blocked the project from going forward without an adequate environmental review process. Mr. Trump later attempted to sidestep the ruling by issuing a presidential permit. Initial construction has started, but the project remains tied up in court.
INFRASTRUCTURE & PLANNING
(Completed)
47. Revoked Obama-era flood standards for federal infrastructure projects that required the government to account for sea level rise and other climate change effects.
48. Relaxed the environmental review process for federal infrastructure projects.
49. Overturned an Obama-era guidance that ended U.S. government financing for new coal plants overseas except in rare circumstances.
50. Revoked a directive for federal agencies to minimize impacts on water, wildlife, land and other natural resources when approving development projects.
51. Revoked an Obama executive order promoting climate resilience in the northern Bering Sea region of Alaska, which withdrew local waters from oil and gas leasing and established a tribal advisory council to consult on local environmental issues.
52. Reversed an update to the Bureau of Land Management’s public land-use planning process.
53. Withdrew an Obama-era order to consider climate change in the management of natural resources in national parks.
54. Restricted most Interior Department environmental studies to one year in length and a maximum of 150 pages, citing a need to reduce paperwork.
55. Withdrew a number of Obama-era Interior Department climate change and conservation policies that the agency said could “burden the development or utilization of domestically produced energy resources.”
56. Eliminated the use of an Obama-era planning system designed to minimize harm from oil and gas activity on sensitive landscapes, such as national parks.
57. Withdrew Obama-era policies designed to maintain or, ideally, improve natural resources affected by federal projects.
(In Progress)
58. Proposed plans to speed up the environmental review process for Forest Service projects.
ANIMALS
(Completed)
59. Changed the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, making it more difficult to protect wildlife from long-term threats posed by climate change.
60. Relaxed environmental protections for salmon and smelt in California’s Central Valley in order to free up water for farmers.
61. Overturned a ban on the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands.
62. Overturned a ban on the hunting of predators in Alaskan wildlife refuges.
63. Reversed an Obama-era rule that barred using bait, such as grease-soaked
doughnuts, to lure and kill grizzly bears, among other sport hunting practices that many people consider extreme, on some public lands in Alaska.
64. Amended fishing regulations to loosen restrictions on the harvest of a number of species.
65. Removed restrictions on commercial fishing in a protected marine preserve southeast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, which is home to rare corals and a number of endangered sea animals. The Trump administration has suggested changing the management or size of two other marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean.
66. Proposed revising limits on the number of endangered marine mammals and sea turtles that can be unintentionally killed or injured with sword-fishing nets on the West Coast. (The Obama-era rules were initially withdrawn by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but were later finalized following a court order. The agency has said it plans to revise the limits.)
67. Loosened fishing restrictions intended to reduce bycatch of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna.
68. Rolled back a roughly 40-year-old interpretation of a policy aimed at protecting migratory birds, potentially running afoul of treaties with Canada and Mexico.
69. Overturned a ban on using parts of migratory birds in handicrafts made by Alaskan Natives.
(In Progress)
70. Opened nine million acres of Western land to oil and gas drilling by weakening habitat protections for the sage grouse, an imperiled bird. An Idaho District Court injunction temporarily blocked the measure.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES & SAFETY
(Completed)
71. Rejected a proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children. (Several states have banned its use and the main manufacturer of the pesticide in 2020 stopped producing the product because of shrinking demand.)
72. Narrowed the scope of a 2016 law mandating safety assessments for potentially toxic chemicals like dry-cleaning solvents. The E.P.A. said it would focus on direct exposure and exclude indirect exposure such as from air or water contamination. In November 2019, a court of appeals ruled the agency must widen its scope to consider full exposure risks.
73. Reversed an Obama-era rule that required braking system upgrades for “high hazard” trains hauling flammable liquids like oil and ethanol.
74. Removed copper filter cake, an electronics manufacturing byproduct comprised of heavy metals, from the “hazardous waste” list.
75. Ended an Occupational Safety and Health Administration program to reduce risks of workers developing the lung disease silicosis. In February released guidance to include silica in OSHA's National Emphasis Program, a worker safety program.
76. Rolled back most of the requirements of a 2017 rule aimed at improving safety at sites that use hazardous chemicals that was instituted after a chemical plant exploded in Texas.
(In Progress)
77. Proposed changing safety rules to allow for rail transport of the highly flammable liquefied natural gas.
78. Announced a review of an Obama-era rule lowering coal dust limits in mines. The head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration said there were no immediate plans to change the dust limit but has extended a public comment period until 2022.
WATER POLLUTION
(Completed)
79. Scaled back pollution protections for certain tributaries and wetlands that were regulated under the Clean Water Act by the Obama administration.
80. Revoked a rule that prevented coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams.
81. Withdrew a proposed rule aimed at reducing pollutants, including air pollution, at sewage treatment plants.
82. Withdrew a proposed rule requiring groundwater protections for certain uranium mines. Recently, the administration’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group proposed opening up 1,500 acres outside the Grand Canyon to nuclear production.
(In Progress)
83. Attempted to weaken federal rules regulating the disposal and storage of coal ash waste from power plants, but a court determined the rules were already insufficient. Proposed a new rule to allow coal ash impoundments of a type previously deemed unsafe a pathway to proving safety.
84. Proposed a rule exempting certain types of power plants from parts of an E.P.A. rule limiting toxic discharge from power plants into public waterways.
85. Weakened a portion of the Clean Water Act to make it easier for federal agencies to issue permits for federal projects over state objections if the projects don't meet local water quality standards, including for pipelines and other fossil fuel facilities.
86. Proposed extending the lifespan of unlined coal ash holding areas, which can spill their contents because they lack a protective underlay.
87. Proposed a regulation limiting the scope of an Obama-era rule under which companies had to prove that large deposits of recycled coal ash would not harm the environment.
88. Proposed a new rule allowing the federal government to issue permits for coal ash waste in Indian Country and some states without review if the disposal site is in compliance with federal regulations.
89. Proposed doubling the time allowed to remove lead pipes from water systems with high levels of lead.
OTHER
(Completed)
90. Repealed an Obama-era regulation that would have nearly doubled the number of light bulbs subject to energy-efficiency standards starting in January 2020. The Energy Department also blocked the next phase of efficiency standards for general-purpose bulbs already subject to regulation.
91.Changed a 25-year-old policy to allow coastal replenishment projects to use sand from protected ecosystems.
92. Limited funding of environmental and community development projects through corporate settlements of federal lawsuits.
93. Stopped payments to the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations program to help poorer countries reduce carbon emissions.
94. Reversed restrictions on the sale of plastic water bottles in national parks designed to cut down on litter, despite a Park Service report that the effort worked.
(In Progress)
95. Proposed a sweeping overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act that would limit the scope of environmental concerns federal agencies need to take into account when constructing public infrastructure projects, such as roads, pipelines and telecommunications networks.
96. Proposed limiting the studies used by the E.P.A. for rulemaking to only those that make data publicly available. (Scientists widely criticized the proposal, saying it would effectively block the agency from considering landmark research that relies on confidential health data.)
97. Proposed changes to the way cost-benefit analyses are conducted under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes.
98. Proposed withdrawing efficiency standards for residential furnaces and commercial water heaters designed to reduce energy use.
99. Created a product category that would allow some dishwashers to be exempt from energy efficiency standards.
100. Initially withdrew, and then delayed, a proposed rule that would inform car owners about fuel-efficient replacement tires. (The Transportation Department has scheduled a new rulemaking notice for 2020.)