As whispers of a potential return to the Oval Office for Donald Trump circulate, it’s worth taking a stroll down memory lane to revisit his administration’s approach to environmental regulation—or perhaps more accurately, deregulation. For some, the recollection of Trump’s assault on environmental protections might be a distant memory, clouded by the passage of time. For others, the details might not have been on their radar. But make no mistake, the Trump era was marked by a relentless campaign to dismantle America’s environmental safeguards, particularly those impeding the fossil fuel industry.
A Timeline of Trump’s Environmental Policy Changes
In 2017, the gears of change began to turn rapidly. February saw the granting of an easement for the Dakota Access pipeline construction—a project steeped in controversy and protest. March wasn’t any less eventful. Trump green-lit the Keystone XL pipeline and signed an executive order to disregard the previously calculated social cost of carbon, essentially ignoring the damage caused by CO2 emissions. He didn’t stop there; he also proposed a 30% slash in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) funding.
As summer approached, Trump signaled a retreat from global climate commitments by initiating the process to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. April’s actions included the EPA’s move to postpone the enforcement of 2015 air quality standards aimed at reducing smog. And in a bold December move, Trump reduced the size of two Utah national monuments by a staggering two million acres, signaling a broader assault on the national monument system.
Continued Rollbacks in 2018 and 2019
The following year, 2018, didn’t see any reversal in Trump’s environmental policy trajectory. In May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was instructed to limit how much climate change could be considered when approving new natural gas pipelines. By October, the EPA had ousted independent scientists from its advisory board, opting instead for experts with industry ties.
2019 brought further rollbacks. The Obama-era Clean Power Plan was replaced in June with a nominal rule that barely scratched the surface, demanding a mere 3% reduction in carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. August witnessed a scaling back of protections for species teetering on the brink of endangerment but not yet critically so. That same year, in September, the EPA revoked California’s right to set its own vehicle emission standards and, together with the Army Corps of Engineers, repealed and replaced the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, stripping protection from wetlands and numerous small streams.
The Final Year: 2020’s Environmental Decisions
As Trump’s first term neared its end, 2020 was marked by a continued relaxation of environmental restrictions. In February, the EPA eased limits on potent greenhouse gases emitted by refrigeration and air conditioning units. Come March, the administration scrapped the planned increase in auto fuel efficiency established by Obama, a move destined to result in significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions.
The summer months weren’t any kinder to environmental policy. In June, the EPA curtailed the power of states to reject infrastructure projects on environmental grounds. July saw a White House overhaul of rules for environmental impact statements, aiming to fast-track logging, oil, gas, and mining on public lands. This month also saw the rollback of Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone’s grizzly bears. August’s deregulatory actions included the removal of restrictions on methane emissions by oil and gas companies.
November marked the official exit of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, a move that had been set in motion years prior. And as the year drew to a close, in December, the EPA decided against regulating chloropyrifos, a pesticide previously identified as harmful to children’s brain development.
Unmentioned Last-Minute Rollbacks
It’s important to note that this rundown doesn’t even touch on the eleventh-hour rollbacks that were pushed through in January 2021, as Trump’s term came to a frenzied close. These final efforts were seen by many as a last-ditch attempt to inflict as much change as possible on the nation’s environmental policies before President Biden’s inauguration.
As we consider the future of environmental law and climate policy, it’s crucial to remember the past. The Trump administration’s legacy on the environment is a tapestry of deregulation and diminished protections, a legacy that could potentially resume if Trump were to take office again. The past actions are clear, but the future remains uncertain.
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