The Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to end a decadeslong emissions reporting rule place a new roadblock to undermine climate action by weakening oversight of the largest polluters, critics and environmentalists said.
The EPA announced on Friday it would propose a rule to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which requires large polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions. The program has collected annual emissions data from nearly 8,000 large industrial facilities and other sources since 2011.
The EPA’s move is part of the agency’s agenda to end climate initiatives and policies established by previous administrations that are deemed burdensome and no longer align with President Donald Trump’s agenda to boost the fossil fuel industry. The EPA said repealing the reporting requirement would save companies $2.4 billion in regulatory costs.
However, environmentalists and critics argue that the move weakens transparency and undermines climate efforts.
Joseph Goffman, a former assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said the agency’s move leaves the public in the dark about climate pollution. He added that without the reporting data, decision-makers, companies, and communities lack the necessary tools to reduce emissions and safeguard public health effectively.
“By hiding this information from the public, Administrator [Lee] Zeldin is denying Americans the ability to see the damaging results of his actions on climate pollution, air quality, and public health,” Goffman said, who now volunteers at the Environmental Protection Network.
“It’s a further addition to the deliberate blockade against future action on climate change — and yet another example of the administration putting polluters before people’s health,” he added.
Edwin LaMair, senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a press release that the program, as mandated by Congress, highlights the sources of pollution and the scale being produced, enabling more informed decisions to address the pollution.
“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program allows us to create policies that make life safer, healthier and more affordable for all Americans,” LaMair said.
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The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $3.5 million for the EPA to develop and publish a mandatory reporting rule for greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Congressional Research Service.
In response to Congress, the agency finalized a rule in 2009. It later revised the rule to include new emission sources to be reported. The EPA now requires 47 greenhouse gas emissions source categories to be reported. The program helps the EPA assess emission trends and develop policies and programs within the industry sector.
Yet the EPA argues that the Clean Air Act does not require the agency to collect emission data from companies. If the rule is finalized, it would eliminate mandatory reporting for most large facilities, including all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, as well as carbon dioxide injection sites.
“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” Zeldin said.
“Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation’s prosperity, and hurting American communities. With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice,” he added.
