The Story of One Reg: PM5
The recission of every harmful regulation will look different, as will any subsequent legal challenges. Here is one potential scenario for a crucial regulation that the NAM has urged President Trump to undo: the Biden EPA’s overly strict air quality standards.
The background: In February 2024, the EPA lowered the standard for particulate matter, or PM2.5, in its National Ambient Air Quality Standards rule by 25%, down from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to nine.
- This reduction put the level of acceptable particulates at almost the equivalent of the level found in nature, as NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen pointed out.
- An NAM-commissioned analysis by Oxford Economics found that a standard at this level could reduce GDP by nearly $200 billion and cost as many as 1 million jobs through 2031.
- Furthermore, the new rule put huge swaths of the country in “nonattainment,” meaning that they would not meet ambient air quality standards and would have to cease operating.
What could happen: The rule has not taken effect due to the current lack of compliance requirements. However, it will take the Trump administration some time to achieve a recission, which will have to begin with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public comments.
What the EPA should do: The EPA decided against lowering the air quality standard in 2020, but the Biden administration pushed through this change anyway, without the scientific support required by the Clean Air Act.
- The NAM is asking the Trump administration to reverse course by instituting an NPRM and doing the appropriate research and consideration of public comment to develop a more reasonable standard.
NAM in action: The NAM is fighting the regulation in court, alongside a number of other business associations.