As discussed previously, the series of 31 deregulatory actions recently announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contains enough content for a month’s worth of Low-Energy Fridays. But, today, we are focusing on one of the more high-profile actions announced: the elimination of the EPA’s so-called “endangerment finding.” 

The story began two decades ago during the George W. Bush administration when a group of states sued the EPA for not regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new motor vehicles. In court, the EPA argued that it lacked the legal authority to do so, claiming that GHGs did not qualify as “pollutants” under the Clean Air Act. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA that the EPA did have the authority to regulate GHGs if it determined that they could “reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”

Read more from the R Street Institute here.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.