Pruitt’s climate clash was declared dead. There’s a Plan B
E&E News talks to Myron Ebell about potential moves on several petitions revisiting endangerment findings.
Taking comment on the petitions would be much easier. A group of homeowners filed one petition the day of Trump’s inauguration. Another petition was filed last February by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and board members of the Science and Environmental Policy Project (Greenwire, April 10, 2017).
To open a public debate, the agency could simply issue a notice asking for public comment on the petition. The move wouldn’t create any obligation for EPA to take regulatory action, and it could score the administration some political points on the right.
“We would be happy if the EPA took our petition and the other petitions for reopening or reconsidering the endangerment finding and if they decided to consider those petitions in a public way,” said Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Ebell led Trump’s EPA transition team.
“Essentially, a red team could be a part of that process, a red team analysis of current climate science could be part of that process, and that would then allow them to make a better-informed decision about whether reopening the endangerment finding is a good idea or not,” Ebell added.