Last week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will undertake 31 deregulatory actions as it enacts the President’s executive orders in an effort to “Power the Great American Comeback.”
The major announcement dubbed by Zeldin as the “largest deregulatory announcement in U.S. history” reimagines the purpose of EPA to “unleash American energy, revitalize the auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states.”
For the energy services sector, several of these deregulatory actions could be impactful including:
- Reconsideration of regulations throttling the oil and gas industry (OOOO b/c)
- Reconsideration of mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program that imposed significant costs on the American energy supply (GHG Reporting Program)
- Reconsideration of wastewater regulations for oil and gas development to help unleash American energy (Oil and Gas ELG)
Immediate Impact & Potential Challenges
The announcement made last week does not detail if the Administration plans to reconsider the regulation through a rulemaking process (which requires notices and opportunity for public comment) or if the rules will be eliminated entirely. Since the regulation will likely have to undergo the rulemaking process, impacts will not be seen until about a year with the rulemaking process typically taking anywhere between eight and 24 months. This timeline could also be extended if it includes likely legal challenges which would delay implementation.
In the online announcements, EPA specifically cites the announcement “is informed by major recent Supreme Court precedent providing significant guidance to federal agencies as to how they should interpret and implement governing statutes to ensure EPA is following the law of the land” referring to the recent Chevron doctrine ruling.
Energy Workforce will continue to monitor developments around these rule reconsiderations and share how it could impact membership.
Maria Suarez-Simmons, Senior Director Energy Policy, writes about industry-specific policies for the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
