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March 12, 2025

Four states sue EPA in federal court over Clean Air Act rollbacks

Dan Farber
Reuters
Euronews
Reuters
Reuters
+2

Four states sue as EPA rolls back 30 environmental regulations

When Trump EPA announced rollbacks of over 30 environmental rules in Mar. 2025, four states immediately sued the federal government, creating constitutional battle between federal authority and state rights

Lee Zeldin's Mar. 12 rollbacks eliminated air quality standards, water protection rules, and climate policies in a single day, surpassing Reagan-era deregulation in scope and speed

Federal courts rejected Trump EPA actions at 96% rate by May 2025, with 26 of 27 legal challenges succeeding against rushed deregulation that violated Administrative Procedure Act requirements

New York's $75 billion oil company climate assessment prompted DOJ lawsuits against four states, with Attorney General Pamela BondiPamela Bondi claiming state climate policies threaten national energy independence

The Justice Department's simultaneous lawsuits against New York, Vermont, Michigan, and Hawaii target state sovereignty in environmental policy, reversing traditional Republican federalism support

State climate superfund laws trigger unprecedented federal-state constitutional crisis as DOJ challenges states' authority to regulate global corporations for environmental damages

The coordinated environmental deregulation demonstrates unprecedented executive power to dismantle decades of environmental law through administrative action rather than legislative repeal

🌱EnvironmentπŸ“œConstitutional Law

People, bills, and sources

Lee Zeldin

EPA Administrator

Pamela Bondi

Pamela Bondi

U.S. Attorney General

What you can do

1

Support state environmental agencies and attorneys general defending state climate policies against federal challenges by contacting your governor and state legislators

2

Join environmental organizations like the Sierra Club (sierraclub.org) and Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org) challenging EPA deregulation in federal court

3

Contact your representatives at 202-224-3121 to demand congressional oversight of EPA deregulation and restoration of environmental protections

4

Support legal defense funds for states fighting federal challenges to climate policies, including contributions to state attorney general offices

5

Advocate with local governments to strengthen environmental regulations at municipal and county levels to compensate for federal rollbacks

6

Join citizen monitoring groups documenting environmental damage from deregulation to provide evidence for future restoration of protective regulations

7

Support organizations like Earthjustice (earthjustice.org) providing legal representation in environmental cases and defending state authority over environmental protection