Lee Zeldin to Lead EPA

UtilityDive: “Trump taps former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead EPA.” While this story is getting wide coverage in mainstream media, I thought it was worth emphacizing the radical nature of this choice. Zeldin was a House member from 2015 to 2023. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI,” Zeldin claimed in a statement. He added, “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.” Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America’s Power, a trade group for owners of coal-fired power plants, recently criticized six EPA rules that would have forced the early retirement of most U.S. coal-fired power plants, which total about 180,000 MW [180 gigawatts or GW], while also impeding new gas-fired generation. “They are the carbon rule, the ozone transport rule, mercury and air toxics standards [MATS], effluent limitation guidelines, the coal ash rule and the regional haze rule.” It is expected that the incoming administration will ask the courts to stay pending lawsuits against the first 4 of the 6 regulations, + remand these to the newly staffed EPA. “After the rules are sent back to the EPA, the agency can start new rulemaking processes to either repeal the rules or revise them so they don’t affect grid reliability or affordability or so they are ‘more reasonable and more flexible,’ Bloodworth claimed disengenuously.” [She stated the process could take more than 2 yrs]. The last 2 of the 6 rules will also likely be put through a paper shredder. It will take some heroic people to try + stay on at the EPA, they will need every support.