Lee Zeldin’s recent proposals for the Environmental Protection Agency, which would be one of the largest deregulatory actions in American history, have put local organizations on alert as the head of the federal agency looks to roll back greenhouse gas emissions policies.
On July 29, Zeldin announced plans to revoke a 2009 scientific declaration known as the Endangerment Finding, which determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are threats to public health.
The Obama and Biden administrations utilized the Endangerment Findings to limit greenhouse gas emissions from several sources of pollution.
If finalized, the proposal would repeal all resulting greenhouse gas emissions regulations for motor vehicles and engines, thereby reinstating consumer choice, according to the EPA. The agency also said it would save Americans roughly $54 billion in costs annually.
“If finalized, rescinding the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations would end $1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin has pushed for cuts to the EPA since being appointed by President Donald Trump to head the federal agency earlier this year. He previously represented most of Suffolk County in Congress from 2015 to 2023.
“Today is the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” Zeldin said in a statement in March regarding the direction of the EPA.
Under Zeldin, the EPA has undergone the most rollbacks in its history. Trump has also pushed back on the country’s climate stance, as he withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement one day after taking office.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the country is returning to free and open dialogue with Zeldin’s proposal.
“Today’s announcement is a monumental step toward returning to commonsense policies that expand access to affordable, reliable, secure energy and improve quality of life for all Americans,” he said.
But not all are in favor of the EPA’s direction.
“The Trump administration is moving our country backwards,” said state DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton in a statement. “These policy shifts, which disregard established scientific consensus, are projected to increase harmful air pollutants and tailpipe emissions.”
She said there could be significant consequences to public health, including heightened risks for asthma, cardiovascular disease and other respiratory ailments.
Jane Fasullo, chair of the Sierra Club Long Island chapter, said she is no fan of Zeldin’s rollbacks to the federal agency, saying the recent cuts to the EPA will leave the region with more problems than solutions.
“The EPA cuts are killing us,” she said. “We’re in deep trouble.”
Fasullo said that although environmental laws vary in each state, those decisions have impacts on other areas. She specifically mentioned the preservation of currently protected areas, the burning of wood and fossil fuels and clean water regulation.
Fasullo said federal regulation is needed to control environmental consequences across the country.
“The approach to let corporations or individual states take control is not going to work,” She said. “Federal regulations have to be in place, and they’re wiping them out left and right.”
Climate activists disrupted a speech by Zeldin in the Hamptons on July 27 as protesters clashed with audience members and the event devolved into chaos.
The former congressman was delivering a speech at the Global Breakfast Forum at The Hamptons Synagogue in which he emphasized the economic worries of New Yorkers that he contended are causing them to leave en masse for places like Florida.
Zeldin was interrupted by climate activists from the youth-led organization Climate Defiance, who shouted as others in the audience resorted to physical violence.
Protesters claimed that by promoting deregulation at the U.S. environmental agency, Zeldin is endangering his original district as the Hamptons — and much of Long Island — is at particular risk of coastal erosion, rising sea levels, local flooding and intensifying storms associated with climate change.
One person shouted in Zeldin’s direction, “History is going to remember you as a monster.”
The EPA proposal will need to go through a review process, which will include a public comment period.
