EPA rollbacks spark multiple fights
The EPA is facing backlash on several fronts — critics say a recent cost‑benefit framework effectively values a human life at $0, the agency is proposing rules that could let plastic pyrolysis plants skirt Clean Air Act standards, and states like New Jersey have joined lawsuits against a rollback of mercury limits for power plants. Taken together, advocates say these moves could worsen pollution burdens on frontline communities. ( )
The agency publicly posted the change on Jan. 12, 2026, saying it will stop monetizing the health benefits—such as avoided deaths—from reductions in PM2.5 and ozone in its regulatory analyses. (hrw.org) EPA officials told reporters the shift rests on concerns about “uncertainties” in the underlying mortality estimates and in a preliminary regulatory impact analysis posted by the agency in January 2026. (bloomberg.com) Separately, EPA has opened a rulemaking that asks whether certain pyrolysis and gasification units used in “advanced” or chemical recycling should be treated as manufacturing rather than as incineration under the Clean Air Act, an issue the agency solicited comments on in 2026. (wastedive.com) Reporting shows that language on reclassifying pyrolysis was tucked into a broader proposal on small combustor and wood‑incineration rules, and environmental reporters flagged that the change would remove some Section 129 New Source Performance Standards that now apply to waste combustors. (cen.acs.org) Trade groups hailed the docket: America’s Plastic Makers issued a March 17, 2026 statement praising EPA’s solicitation for clarity on pyrolysis, while InsideClimateNews documented a wave of plastics and chemical industry lobbying visits to EPA headquarters in the runup to the proposal. (americanchemistry.com) A 21‑state and local government coalition filed suit at the end of March 2026 to challenge the administration’s repeal of updated mercury‑and‑air‑toxics standards, and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport publicly joined that coalition on April 1, 2026. (stateline.org) Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark also joined the multistate filing on March 31, 2026, bringing Vermont into the same coalition that is contesting the rollback of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). (vermontbiz.com) Advocates point to two concrete stakes in the litigation: MATS helped drive mercury emissions from power plants down by more than 90% after earlier standards took effect, and the coalition is also challenging the rollback of requirements for real‑time continuous emissions monitoring at plants. (elpc.org) EPA’s own 2024 analysis estimated that a strengthened annual PM2.5 standard (9.0 µg/m3) would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays by 2032, figures now cited by critics as the kind of health gains that the agency’s new monetization stance will not be reflected in future cost‑benefit tallies. (epa.gov)
