Trump's sweeping review of environmental rules meets opposition in Delaware

President Donald Trump campaigned on promises of energy independence and reducing regulatory burdens, especially rules imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

As promised, and as required by several of Trump's executive orders, dozens of environmental laws and guidelines are now under review. Trump's proposed budget also threatens to cut funds to numerous environmental programs, including Sea Grant programs, which provide $1.5 million annually to the University of Delaware.

The president also has proposed slashing the EPA's budget by 31 percent, or $2.6 billion, in part by discontinuing funding for initiatives like the Clean Power Plan and cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.

"It's quite a big deal as people think about what kind of legacy they want to pass on, not just to their children and grandchildren, but to the people who come after," said Jeremy Firestone, director of the University of Delaware's Center for Carbon-free Power Integration. "The threat of climate change is quite profound. Given the present economics, it’s tragic we’re not going to do more."

Firestone said companies won't stop producing alternative energy sources like wind and solar, but cutting incentives could slow the switch from fossil fuel sources.

"With good policy, you can move the process faster still," he said. "I don’t think we're putting enough attention to the fact that people who live next to fossil fuel plants have a greater risk of dying, of illnesses. These are real in the here and now. The health motivations to switch very quickly are quite profound and immediate."

Sen. Tom Carper, who is the ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, has previously applauded state officials for standing up for climate change science.

"In Delaware, we can't simply hit pause on climate change," Carper said earlier this year. "I applaud the states committed to supporting the Clean Power Plan to reduce the most potent greenhouse gas and protect our shared planet."

Here’s a quick look at a handful of proposed changes to environmental rules that could impact the First State in the new year.

On the water

Offshore drilling and seismic testing: In April, an executive order called for a rewrite of America’s five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program. Federal officials have reopened oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans in the proposed leasing period from 2017 to 2022. The order also led to the removal of protections of hundreds of acres of marine sanctuaries preserved by the Obama administration. The order, which calls on the Interior Department to review the nation’s offshore drilling program, also reopens the Atlantic Coast to seismic testing, which uses high-powered air blasts to search below the ocean floor for oil and gas deposits.

Clean Water Rule: The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers were directed in a Feb. 28 executive order to either revise or rescind guidelines on how navigable waters are regulated by the Waters of the U.S. Rule under the Clean Water Act. A 2015 revision to the rule was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and federal officials now are redefining what constitutes navigable waterways according to Justice Anton Scalia’s opinion on the case. In 2015, the Obama administration defined what was and wasn’t regulated under the rule and attempted to include federal protections for small waterways such as streams, wetlands and seasonal vernal pools, which provide habitat for rare species in Delaware.

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In the air

Clean Power Plan: Trump’s emphasis on American energy independence is outlined in his March 28 executive order calling for a review of the Clean Power Plan, which aimed to crack down on air pollution produced by power generators. The plan, also implemented in 2015 and on hold by court order, called for a 32 percent reduction by 2030 in carbon dioxide emissions based on levels recorded in 2005. The state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is hosting a meeting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 8, at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington to collect input from East Coast residents as the EPA prepares to repeal the plan.

Vehicle fuel efficiency: In March, Trump called for a review of stringent fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks ordered by the Obama administration. If upheld, the EPA would have required automakers to produce vehicles that achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The EPA has until April 1 to decide if those standards are appropriate or should be changed.

On land

Endangered Species Act: Trump has not signed an executive order to overhaul this 1973 legislation, but his administration has blocked the listing of more than two dozen species environmentalists say are at risk including the Pacific walrus, which scientists say is suffering from a loss of its Arctic sea ice habitat.

National park:Delaware national park is likely safe from reductions, the Trump administration is eyeing changes to more than two dozen public places nationwide that have been shielded by the 1906 Antiquities Act. In early December, Trump slashed Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments by about 1 million acres each. That proclamation, supported by an April executive order, is already facing lawsuits.

Climate change

Paris Climate Accord: Local and state leaders throughout the country, including Gov. John Carney, have vowed to tackle global climate change despite Trump’s announcement in June that the U.S. would pull out of the international Paris Climate Accord. The agreement, signed by 195 parties and ratified by 146 countries and the European Union, aims to take a global, collaborative approach to climate change and sea level rise. Experts in Delaware recently released new sea level rise projections that show the low-lying, coastal First State could see sea levels increase by as much as 5 feet by the end of the century.

Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.