Biden hustles to protect environmental rules from Congress
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The Biden administration is fast-tracking major environmental regulations to protect them from possible reversal should Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential election. The administration is aiming to complete these regulations before May 22, 2024, which will safeguard them from the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows a new Congress to nullify recently enacted regulations with a simple majority. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to unveil its final rule to cut carbon emissions from power plants, while other expected regulations include stricter standards for wastewater discharges from industrial facilities, hazardous air toxics and mercury from power plants, and managing toxic coal ash discharged from power plants.
Biden Administration Speeds Up Environmental Regulations
The Biden administration is rapidly finalizing major environmental regulations to safeguard them from reversal should Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential election. Regulations in the Federal Register by May 22, 2024, will evade the Congressional Review Act, which allows a new Congress to nullify recently enacted regulations with a simple majority.
Recently, the administration has announced a series of final rules to implement ambitious plans like encouraging the use of electric vehicles and conserving public lands. Several key regulations are also expected to be released soon to help achieve the goal to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050.
Upcoming Environmental Regulations
Expected on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is about to announce its final rule to cut carbon emissions from power plants, a significant source of U.S. greenhouse gases. The rule is narrowed down to target existing coal and new gas plants and is also expected to exclude the use of hydrogen as a compliance method, which could reduce litigation risk.
The EPA will also release final rules to enhance standards for industrial wastewater discharges, hazardous air toxics and mercury from power plants, and managing toxic coal ash discharged from power plants. However, the agency is not expected to finalize a methane fee for oil and gas producers, as required by the Inflation Reduction Act and proposed in January.
Environmental Reviews and Offshore Wind Leasing
The Council on Environmental Quality is expected to finalize its “Phase 2” National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), part of the Biden administration’s rollback of Trump-era changes to the law that mandates federal environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. NEPA 2 is expected to include environmental mitigation requirements and environmental justice protections.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will finalize new regulations for offshore wind developments this week. Offshore wind power is considered crucial to decarbonizing the power sector. These reforms will set a five-year public leasing schedule and reduce costs to developers by eliminating requirements for meteorological buoys, deferring some survey requirements, and allowing incremental funding of decommissioning accounts over the life of a facility.
Efficient Appliances
The Energy Department may finalize its appliance efficiency standards for furnaces, stoves, and washing machines. These measures could decrease emissions by reducing energy consumption.
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