The Trump administration has proposed to approve ozone air-pollution plans submitted by eight states, steps the Environmental Protection Agency said would remove the need for a federal “Good Neighbor Plan” for those areas, subject to further approvals. The proposal came Wednesday, when the EPA said it found the states have adequate data showing they are not interfering with ozone attainment requirements under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
The “good neighbor” rule is intended to limit smokestack emissions that burden downwind areas in neighboring states. The EPA has framed the Wednesday move as part of a broader effort under Administrator Lee Zeldin to reconsider or roll back regulations; in 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the agency could not enforce the rule.
Under the EPA proposal announced Wednesday, the states are Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico and Tennessee. EPA said it is proposing to approve their plans to regulate ozone air pollution “as they see fit,” and that if the proposal is finalized, those states would no longer need to worry about another “Good Neighbor Plan” subject to federal approval.
EPA said that under President Joe Biden, it disapproved or proposed disapproval of ozone plans submitted by all eight affected states. The Biden-era EPA said the state-specific plans did not sufficiently control ozone emissions that travel across state lines.
Zeldin said Wednesday that under President Donald Trump, the EPA is committed to advancing what he called “cooperative federalism,” allowing states to decide for themselves how to attain air pollution goals. In a statement, Zeldin said: “Today, we are taking an important step to undo a Biden administration rule that treated our state partners unfairly,” and he added that if finalized, the EPA plan would ensure “these states will be able to advance cleaner air now for their communities, instead of waiting for overly burdensome federal requirements years from now.”
Zeldin also criticized what he said was the Biden-era agency’s “heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all, federal mandate” to address air pollution from smog-forming ozone. EPA said under the proposal it found the eight state plans have adequate data demonstrating these states are not interfering with ozone attainment required by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
The EPA said the action also indicates the agency’s intent to withdraw proposed error corrections for state plans submitted by Iowa and Kansas. The agency said it plans a separate action in the near future to address “interstate transport” obligations for the remaining states covered in the final, Biden-era “Good Neighbor Plan.”
Environmental groups criticized the proposal. Zachary Fabish, a Sierra Club lawyer, said: “Once again, Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin are choosing to protect aging, dirty and expensive coal plants and other industrial polluters over strong federal clean air protections that address interstate pollution problems,” and he added that letting states avoid responsibility while their pollution harms air quality in neighboring states is dangerous and will make “Americans sicker and pay more for energy while doing so.”
The EPA said it will accept public comment for at least 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.