"The Trump administration vowed to rid the EPA of a backlog of decisions on state plans to manage air pollution. Now advocates wonder if faster analysis raises the risk that the plans may not effectively mitigate dirty air.
States and tribes create State Implementation Plans, or SIPs, in response to federally-set air pollution limits, and those plans must be approved or overhauled by the EPA according to Clean Air Act deadlines.
These plans are part of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which govern emissions from six air pollutants that are harmful to human health, including ozone and particulate matter. States and tribes create SIPs to carry out these regulations.
President Donald Trump’s EPA has launched an aggressive agenda to roll back environmental and climate regulations in favor of energy and fossil fuel development, which includes handing more regulatory responsibility to the states.
As part of that agenda, the EPA, led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, earlier this month announced its move to clear the slate for SIPs, counting “685 unresolved SIPs with 322 considered overdue.”"
Jennifer Hijazi reports for Bloomberg Environment March 26, 2025.
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