PA Environment Digest Blog: Chesapeake Bay Foundation: EPA Deregulation Bombshell A Blow To The Chesapeake Bay

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: EPA Deregulation Bombshell A Blow To The Chesapeake Bay

On March 13, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation released this statement on what EPA called “the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday unveiled its intent to unleash an unprecedented assault on dozens of science-based standards that safeguard the environment, protect public health, and ensure the federal government does its part to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

Targets of the Trump Administration’s sweeping deregulatory push include limits on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from dirty power plants and vehicle exhaust, tougher standards for reducing soot and curbing interstate air pollution, the legal foundation for fighting climate change, and EPA’s environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

The regulatory rollbacks are proposals that must still undergo a rigorous process before being finalized.

Yesterday, EPA also unveiled plans to rewrite the definition of wetlands and other waters protected by the Clean Water Act. This could exclude more wetlands from federal protection, leaving them vulnerable to destruction.

This threat of a deregulatory blitz comes following weeks of crushing blows to the federal government’s leadership on Chesapeake Bay restoration, including--

-- The Trump Administration’s proposal to slash EPA’s budget by at least 65 percent;

-- The termination of $20 billion in climate and clean energy grants;

-- Destabilizing mass layoffs;

-- Freezing, canceling, or withholding grant funds that clean up streams, plant tree buffers, expand brook trout habitat, restore oyster populations, and other projects vital to Chesapeake Bay restoration.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk said this--

“This barrage of deregulatory declarations essentially removes the word protection from the Environmental Protection Agency and undermines the federal/state effort to save the Bay.

“For example, rolling back federal protections for wetlands and waterways removes accountability for water pollution crossing state lines while further jeopardizing restoration efforts.

“Clean air and clean water are rights that cannot be taken for granted. We must stand up for the health and wellbeing of our region’s people, the Chesapeake Bay, and its rivers and streams.”

Click Here for the CBF statement.

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage. Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column). Click Here to support their work.

CBF has over 275,000 members in Bay Watershed.

-- EPA Launches Biggest Deregulation Action For Industry In US History, 'Driving A Dagger Straight Into The Heart Of The Climate Change Religion,’ Unleashing The American Energy Industry [PaEN]

-- EPA Pulls Back Regulations Setting Methane Emission Limits, Regulating Wastewater From Oil & Gas Operations, Risk Management Rule At Petrochemical Plants [PaEN]

-- Clean Air Council: EPA To Reverse Life-Saving Finding Carbon Pollution Is Endangering Public Health By Driving Climate Change [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: EPA Deregulation Bombshell A Blow To The Chesapeake Bay [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network: EPA Announces Plan To Put Pollution Before Our Health [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Poll - Chesapeake Bay Watershed Cleanup Faces Unprecedented Federal Upheaval; Restoring The Bay Is Now MORE Of A Priority [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: As Washington Unwinds Its Commitments, State And Local Governments Will Have To Step Up

-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin [PaEN]

-- AP: EPA Head Says He’ll Roll Back Dozens Of Environmental Regulations, Including Rules On Climate Change

-- AP: A Breakdown Of Major EPA Deregulatory Moves Around Water, Air, Climate