EPA, Departments of Interior and Energy Announce New Coal-Friendly Policy Initiatives
On September 29, 2025, the Trump Administration unveiled a sweeping set of policy initiatives aimed at revitalizing the U.S. coal sector that spans multiple federal agencies and includes measures such as increased funding and financial incentives, relief from environmental regulatory requirements, and increased access to public lands. In the unveiling, the Administration emphasized the importance of American “energy dominance” and the increased demand for electricity to power artificial intelligence (AI) in order to ensure that the United States wins “the AI arms race” — two themes commonly highlighted by the Administration and its top officials.
EPA Proposes Overhaul of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
On September 16, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would fundamentally reshape the federal Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). 90 Fed. Reg. 44591 (Sept. 16, 2025). If finalized, this action would mark a further shift in federal greenhouse gas (GHG) policy and advance the administration’s broader deregulatory agenda.
D.C. Circuit Upholds U.S. EPA’s HFC Cap-and-Trade Program Under AIM Act
On August 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through a cap-and-trade program. In IGas Holdings, Inc. v. EPA, No. 23-1261, a unanimous panel rejected constitutional and administrative law challenges from refrigerant industry members, finding that the AIM Act provides a clear “intelligible principle” to guide EPA’s allowance allocation. The Court also held that EPA’s decision to exclude 2020 market data from its allocation methodology was not arbitrary and capricious.
Agencies Collectively Move to Overhaul Environmental Review Regulations
On July 3, 2025, numerous federal agencies initiated an effort to revise the manner in which they comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA, a cornerstone of environmental governance and project development in the U.S., has historically been implemented through regulations from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The DC Circuit questioned the legality of those regulations, as well as CEQ’s authority to implement them. And at the direction of President Trump’s February 25, 2025 Executive Order 14154 — “Unleashing American Energy” — CEQ rescinded its NEPA implementing regulations. In place, CEQ provided guidance for agencies that instructed them to update their NEPA procedures by February 2026 in a manner consistent with recent statutory amendments that prioritizes “efficiency and certainty over any other policy objectives.” Today, we are getting our first glimpse into what that process will look like.
EPA Updates Clean Air Act Standards Applicable to Small Waste Incinerators
On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized updates to its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines for Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) units under the Clean Air Act (CAA). These units — combustion systems that incinerate solid waste from commercial or institutional sources not otherwise regulated under specific incinerator categories — include very small municipal waste combustors and institutional incinerators. The final rule includes applicability-related and definitional changes expanding the class of incinerators subject to NSPS, revises the OSWI subcategories and tightens emission limits for key pollutants. It also adopts changes to startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), and expands testing, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements that will affect both existing and new OSWI units.
Supreme Court Issues Split Rulings on Clean Air Act Venue Disputes
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in two significant Clean Air Act cases — EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining and Oklahoma v. EPA — clarifying the appropriate venue for legal challenges to certain final EPA actions. In Calumet, the Court held that EPA’s universal denials of small-refinery-exemption (SRE) petitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard program were “based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect,” and thus challenges may only be brought in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. By contrast, the Court in Oklahoma held that challenges to EPA’s disapproval of State Implementation Plans (SIPs) belong in the applicable regional circuit courts because the agency’s determinations were based on facts and rationales unique to each state. Although some gray areas remain, the twin decisions put several long-standing venue issues to rest and should encourage quicker resolution of Clean Air Act regulatory challenges.
EPA Proposes to Rescind Two Biden-EPA Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plant Rules
On June 11, the EPA proposed two Clean Air Act (CAA) rules that would affect fossil-fuel fired electric generating units (EGUs). One rule would repeal greenhouse gas (GHG) standards under Section 111 and the second would repeal the 2024 EPA amendments to the mercury and air toxics (MATS) standards. The proposed rules are a part of the current administration’s stated goal to promote U.S. energy by reducing regulation of the power sector. The EPA estimates that, together, the two rules will save more than $1.3 billion in regulatory costs per year. Here are five key takeaways from these proposals.
Proactive Risk Management in the Face of Opposition to Data Centers and Crypto Mining
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and cryptocurrency continues to drive unprecedented U.S. demand for energy. This acceleration is encountering an increasingly organized wave of opposition, particularly to the siting of electric generation assets required to operate data centers and crypto mining facilities. A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), A Pollution Footprint the Size of Texas, sharply criticizes the permitting of new natural gas power plants in Texas — many of which are being built for proposed to power data centers and crypto mines.
The Future of Environmental Review of Federal Permitting Remains Unsteady as White House Seeks to Rescind NEPA Regulations
On February 19, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) submitted a proposed Interim Final Rule rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Rule will become effective 45 days after its publication in the Federal Register, marking the end of nearly 50 years of CEQ regulations serving as the foundation for federal environmental reviews. This Interim Rule comes right at the deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14154—Unleashing American Energy—which rescinded CEQ’s authority to issue NEPA regulations and revoked President Carter’s EO 11991, which had originally directed CEQ to promulgate implementing regulations.
President Trump’s Executive Order Seeks to Reduce Federal Regulation
President Trump’s January 31, 2025, Executive Order (EO) titled “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” is a part of the new Administration’s broader policy to reduce federal regulation. The EO finds that federal regulations impose significant costs and complexities on American citizens and businesses that hinder economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness – and it is the Administration’s policy to alleviate these burdens. This marks a policy change from the approach of the prior administration and is a broader effort than the regulatory reforms of the first Trump Administration.
