EPA administrator Lee Zeldin eliminates 2009 Obama greenhouse gas finding

FIRST ON FOX: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday will eliminate the “2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding,” which set in motion most federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, saving Americans billions.

The 2009 development was an EPA finding that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three other greenhouse gases “endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations” under the Clean Air Act — leading to a slew of new restrictions and regulations.

An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them.

“As I traveled across all 50 states this past year, I heard from countless Americans who not only dislike the (motor-vehicle) start-stop feature but passionately advocated for this mechanism to be a thing of the past,” Zeldin said of the major recission made Thursday.

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“Not only do many people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment. The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump Speed.”

Zeldin said automakers shouldn’t be forced to adopt or be rewarded for using technologies that represent a “climate participation trophy” with no meaningful reduction in actual pollution.

The former New York lawmaker said consumer choice is a priority for his agency, and that his office will continue to advocate for “commonsense rules.”

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US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement that resetting of mileage standards and removal of auto-starts and other greenhouse-gas-regulation-precipitated regulations are part of President Donald Trump’s vision to lower costs and revitalize manufacturing.

All federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines subsequent to the 2009 declaration will be rescinded, a source familiar with the situation said.

When it comes to the start-stop off-cycle technology, a credit for it was created by the EPA in 2012 and quickly infuriated motorists who hear their engine click off then on again at a stoplight or in the teller line at the bank.

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The start-stop became a regulatory loophole allowing automakers to claim greenhouse gas credits without actually delivering empirical emission-reduction or human health benefits.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move to rescind the 2009 finding will “be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” according to multiple reports.

However, the climate change field appears eager to litigate the new rule, as the nonprofit green-focused law firm Earthjustice signaled as much to PBS.

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“The Trump administration is abandoning its core responsibility to keep us safe from extreme weather and accelerating climate change,” Earthjustic president Abigail Dillen told the outlet.

“There is no way to reconcile EPA’s decision with the law, the science and the reality of disasters that are hitting us harder every year. Earthjustice and our partners will see the Trump administration in court.”