EPA report touts regulatory reduction efforts to follow Trump Administration’s change of focus

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lays out how the agency will cut what President Donald Trump has designated as regulatory burdens.

Under an executive order signed by Trump earlier this year, the EPA was pressed to promote energy production and economic growth. As such, the EPA has implemented nine actions going forward.

Among them are the establishment of a New Source Review reform (NSR) task force to review the NSR application and permit process. A separate task force will also review air quality efforts and look to alter the approval process for state air pollution plans. Meanwhile, the agency has announced a new, stricter following of five environmental statutes revolving around job impacts by EPA rulings. Those statues demanded impact evaluations, which the report alleges the agency has not historically conducted. The agency also hopes to work more closely with U.S. businesses through the Smart Sectors program and to reduce regulations on them.

“EPA is committed to President Trump’s agenda,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said. “We can be both pro-jobs and pro-environment. At EPA, that means we are working to curb unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burdens that do not serve the American people – while continuing to partner with states, tribes, and stakeholders to protect our air, land, and water.”

Publication of this report was undertaken in accordance with the demands of Trump’s executive order.