Trump EPA Announces Plan to Work with States on SIPs to Improve Air Quality and Reconsider “Good Neighbor Plan”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency is tackling the troubled “Good Neighbor Plan.” EPA announced its commitment to advance cooperative federalism and work with states on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that were nearly universally rejected by the Biden-Harris Administration.
“States are our best partner to advance EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. The Trump Administration is a responsive and willing partner in this effort to tackle the so-called ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ to advance cooperative federalism and improve air quality across the country,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin.
On March 15, 2023, EPA finalized its “Good Neighbor Plan” rule for 23 states to address interstate transport of air pollution which impacts National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). In doing so, the Biden-Harris Administration expanded the federal rules to more states and sectors beyond this program’s traditional focus on power plants and subsequently rejected 19 SIPs and partially rejected 2 SIPs. This heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all, federal mandate was emblematic of a larger regulatory onslaught that guided agency action and rules. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the rule, finding that it was likely unreasonable and irrational in key respects.
This was announced in conjunction with a number of historic actions to advance President Trump’s Day One executive orders and Power the Great American Comeback. Combined, these announcements represent the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in the history of the United States. While accomplishing EPA’s core mission of protecting the environment, the agency is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lower costs for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.