Wyomingites both fear and cheer EPA move to slash fossil fuel, climate regulations

Following the world’s hottest year on record and a series of increasingly intense and damaging environmental disasters, including a historically bad year for wildfires in Wyoming, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is rolling back dozens of climate rules and fossil fuel regulations in an effort to “usher in the golden age of American success.”

The agency, as part of President Donald Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” initiative, will eliminate or otherwise “reconsider” the Clean Power Plan, along with the landmark 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases cause harm. Also on the chopping block are “Mercury and Air Toxics Standards” for coal-fired power plants, regulatory greenhouse gas reporting, a risk management program for oil and gas refineries and dozens of other federal pollution control measures.

“Today is the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a prepared statement that was accompanied by a video message. “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more.”

The actions have major implications in Wyoming, where both fossil fuel extraction and a large federal land footprint play major economic roles and touch almost every aspect of life in the state.

Many industry officials, conservation groups and politicos in Wyoming were still absorbing the possible implications Thursday, noting the sprawling actions trigger myriad legal and logistical questions.

Compounding those questions is general uncertainty and chaos surrounding the Elon Musk-led federal employee purge, Trump’s freeze on federal funding and grant programs, as well as an ever-evolving tariff war. Further complicating the EPA’s regulatory rollback: How Wyoming, which maintains primacy over many federal emissions programs and sometimes implements more stringent requirements, might respond to the new initiatives.

From Zeldin’s perspective, the EPA’s efforts to undo “flawed” and “suffocating rules” implemented under past Democratic administrations that “restrict nearly every sector of our economy and cost Americans trillions of dollars” will make it “more affordable to purchase a car, heat homes, and operate a business.”

Asked whether oil and gas companies in Wyoming might respond by relaxing environmental mitigation efforts, Petroleum Association of Wyoming Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey said that’s not the intention of industry.

“Wyoming’s natural gas and oil producers have long been leaders in emissions reductions, and we have no intention of backing away from that commitment,” McConnaughey told WyoFile via email. “Throughout the Biden administration, PAW consistently sought to engage with the EPA, offering constructive feedback and voicing concerns that the regulatory approach could lead to unnecessary closures and significant increases in energy costs for American consumers.

“Unfortunately,” McConnaughey continued, “these concerns were repeatedly ignored. By ensuring regulations align with on-the-ground technological and economic realities, we can achieve emissions goals in a cost-effective and practical manner without imposing undue burdens on American businesses or households.”

Whatever the intention, the EPA’s regulatory rollbacks are sure to have negative impacts regarding the climate, as well as the health of Wyoming landscapes and wildlife, and “on people, ultimately,” Wyoming Outdoor Council Energy and Climate Policy Director John Burrows told WyoFile.

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Zeldin’s announcement, Burrows said, appears to reveal a fundamental shift in mission at EPA, he added.

“The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment — that is their mission,” Burrows said. “If you look at the announcements that were made [this week] from their leadership, they did not say a word about the environment or protection of air or water or waste — nothing.”

Reached for comment, Gov. Mark Gordon’s Communications Director Michael Pearlman lauded the rollback effort. Gordon has repeatedly sued the Biden administration over policies tied to the energy industry and climate change.

“These are highly impactful actions, particularly the endangerment finding, that could be extremely beneficial to Wyoming energy producers,” Pearlman said. “This is yet another step that the Trump administration has taken to relieve the stranglehold on industry created by the Biden administration’s regulations.”