While some improvements has been made nationally in both air pollution and water cleanliness, both laws have resulted in the most complex, comprehensive, and costly environmental laws in existence.
Additionally, environmental improvements in both areas began to improve prior to the 1970s when both laws were enacted. Through pragmatic regulatory reform of both laws, the Competitive Enterprise believes Americans can have clean water and improved air quality without submitting to undue regulations that strangle industry and harm our economy.
Featured Posts
Blog
EPA won’t rush ozone decision. Good. Now do the same for particulate matter.
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put an end to the possibility that it would soon revise the existing ozone standards. This was…
Blog
Elephant in the elevator: How government manipulates the social cost of carbon to justify regulations
Four CEI colleagues and I each submitted comments this month on the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed update of Circular A-4—OMB’s…
Blog
Supreme Court ruling restores property rights, closes spigot on Clean Water Act abuses
The U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA has finally provided some clarity on one of the most basic questions in environmental law: what…
Search Posts
Blog
EPA won’t rush ozone decision. Good. Now do the same for particulate matter.
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put an end to the possibility that it would soon revise the existing ozone standards. This was…
Comment
CEI Comments on the EPA’s CO2 Powerplant Emission Performance Standards
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards and guidelines for new and existing…
Blog
Elephant in the elevator: How government manipulates the social cost of carbon to justify regulations
Four CEI colleagues and I each submitted comments this month on the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed update of Circular A-4—OMB’s…
Blog
Supreme Court ruling restores property rights, closes spigot on Clean Water Act abuses
The U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA has finally provided some clarity on one of the most basic questions in environmental law: what…
News Release
Supreme Court Protects Property Rights from Federal Overreach in Sackett v. EPA Decision
The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the Sackett family in a property rights dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA claimed…
Blog
Skepticism about EPA’s PM2.5 Rule Is Healthy
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed to tighten the annual national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter. My colleague Daren Bakst…
News Release
Biden Veto of Bipartisan Congressional Resolution to Withdraw WOTUS Rule Highlights Administration’s Environmental Extremism
President Joe Biden vetoed a bipartisan resolution passed by Congress under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would have rescinded EPA and the U.S.
Blog
The EPA’s Premature Proposal on Particulate Matter: Highlights from CEI’s Comment to the EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is jumping the gun by reconsidering the existing particulate matter (PM) air quality standards.Under the Clean Air Act, the…
News Release
Bipartisan Majority of U.S. Senate Rejects Biden Administration Overreach on Waters of the US Rule
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act rejecting the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The rule would…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA’s Reconsideration of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
Dear Dr. Perlmutt,We appreciate the opportunity to submit this comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule entitled “Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air…
Blog
Senators Should Reject WOTUS Overreach
The Senate is soon expected to consider legislation that would reject the Biden administration’s final rule defining “Waters of the United States,” otherwise…
News Release
CEI and Other Litigants File Brief Challenging Agency Authority to Regulate Emissions
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and other litigants involved in Texas v. EPA recently filed an opening brief with the D.C. Circuit Court…
Real Clear Policy
Bureaucracy Isn’t the Answer to Ocean Pollution
The existence of plastic waste in the world’s oceans has raised reasonable concerns about the impact on wildlife and the environment. But rather than develop…
Study
Why Carbon Taxes Are Anti-Growth, Anti-Consumer, and Politically Dangerous for Conservatives
A tax on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, contrary to its advocates’ claims, is a market-rigging policy, not a free market one. Its purpose is to…
News Release
New CEI Paper Highlights Facts about Plastics in the Ocean an Offers Workable Solutions to the Problem
WASHINGTON – In a new paper released today, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) senior fellow Angela Logomasini, PhD argues legislation pending before Congress…
Study
Ban Overboard: Exploring Solutions to Ocean Pollution
Heartbreaking photos and videos of wildlife harmed by plastics litter have rightly raised public concerns about plastics in the ocean. In response, state and local…
Blog
How Private Property Can Protect Rivers From Pollution
Many prominent environmental activists, such as teen media star Greta Thunberg and former Vice President Al Gore, raise various environmental concerns from climate change…
Blog
Will EPA Establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Greenhouse Gases?
Will the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) propose to establish national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs)? The…
News Release
EPA Administrator Wheeler Unveils Final Science Transparency Rule During CEI Forum
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled the agency’s final rule on strengthening transparency in pivotal science this morning during a policy…
Blog
Washington Post Trashes EPA Benefit Cost Analysis Rule
The Washington Post last week published an inaccurate and misleading analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently finalized benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rule…
Blog
New York Times Trashes EPA’s Particulate Matter Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday, December 7, finalized its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) rule for particulate matter (PM). Controversy swirls…
Blog
NHTSA’s Consistent Understanding that California’s Tailpipe GHG Standards Are Unlawful
October 27 is the deadline for submitting final legal briefs to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Union of Concerned Scientists v. National Highway…
Blog
EPA Encourages Innovation, Levels Playing Field for Sources Reducing Hazardous Air Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on October 1 finalized a rule to implement the clear language of Section 112 of the…
Blog
Closing the Loop on Sea Level Rise
Sea level rise is potentially the most important consequence of manmade climate change. The global mean sea level has been rising since the great continental ice-age…
Blog
CEI Submits Comment Letter in Support of EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis Rule
The comment period closed this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rulemaking. Under the proposal, all economically significant Clean Air Act regulations…
Blog
Criteria Pollutant Emissions and Precursors Decline 7 Percent Under Trump
The EPA today released its annual report on air quality, tracking the nation’s progress through 2019. The EPA reports that under President Trump (2017-2019), combined…
Blog
EPA Finalizes Rule Limiting State Abuses of Clean Water Act to Block Fossil Energy Projects
On June 1, the EPA issued a final rule clarifying that the Clean Water Act cannot be used by states to block energy projects based…
Blog
Wood Heaters—One Cheer for Trump EPA’s Modest Regulatory Reform
The Trump administration’s reforms of past regulatory excesses range from excellent to little better than no change at all. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)…
Blog
Harvard Junk Science Study Claims High Pollution Levels Increase Deaths from COVID-19
Researchers at Harvard University in late April published a draft or preliminary study that concluded, “A small increase in long-term exposure to PM2.5 leads to…
Blog
SAFE Rule Examined Part 2: Air Quality and Auto Safety
Today’s post examines the Final Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule’s estimated impacts on air quality and auto safety. Citations to the rule are…
Blog
EPA Proposes to Retain Current Standards for Particulate Matter
The EPA proposed to retain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter established in 2012. Environmental groups predictably condemned the proposal. However,…
Blog
Trump Can’t Do Much About Toilets, But Can Stop Other Anti-Homeowner Regulations
President Trump created more controversy than usual last week when he complained about water-saving faucets, shower heads, and—especially—toilets. “You turn on the faucet and you…
Blog
Stop State Government Abuse of Clean Water Act
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute led a coalition letter in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule, “Updating Regulations on Water Quality Certification.” The rule would…
National Review
A Shale-Gas Revolution, If We Can Keep It
Living conditions in the early Industrial Revolution were often atrocious, and Marx and Engels thought they saw a trend. They predicted in Capital that as capitalism evolved,…
Blog
Environmental Protection Agency to California: Clean up Your Act
In two separate actions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week put California on notice that the state is violating federal air and water…
Blog
New Rule to Limit State Government Abuse of Clean Water Act for Climate Activism
Making good on a promise made in an April 10th Executive Order entitled Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule restricting…
The Washington Examiner
Climate Hawk Republicans Are Wrong to Look to Carbon Tax as Green New Deal Alternative
The Washington Examiner cites CEI’s recent carbon tax video. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has produced a video that describes how the costs of a carbon…
Blog
EPA Streamlines Infrastructure Approval Process under Clean Water Act
Making good on its promise in Executive Order 13868 to combat the abuse of section 401 of the Clean Water Act by states seeking to block…
Blog
EPA Mercury Rule an Inappropriate Exercise of Regulatory Power
On Wednesday, I submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to rescind its justification for the 2012 Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule.
Comment
CEI Joins Pacific Legal Foundation Comments on EPA/Army Corps 2019 Proposed Regulation Defining “Navigable Waters” under the Clean Water Act
Pacific Legal Foundation, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, and Washington Cattlemen’s Association are pleased to submit the following comments on the EPA and the…
Blog
Administration Takes on Anti-Infrastructure Misuse of Clean Water Act
President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on April 10th that is intended to limit the misuse of the Clean Water Act of 1972…
Blog
Trump Administration Trying to Please Everyone on Renewable Fuel Standard
In trying to please both the supporters and the critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the Trump administration may end up pleasing neither. …
Comment
Letter to EPA Administrator Wheeler on Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment
Letter in PDF March 20, 2019 Andrew Wheeler Administrator United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Re: Request for…
Blog
Maryland’s Nanny State Targets Foam Cups and Containers
Maryland consumers may soon be deprived of one of my favorite products: plastic foam coffee cups. The Maryland House of Delegates has already passed a…
Blog
Interior States Take on Coastal States over Climate-Related Project Approvals
When the state of Washington rejected a proposed new coal export facility in 2017, it probably expected the usual appeals from the project’s developers. But it…
Blog
EPA Finally Initiates Air Quality Assessment of Renewable Fuel Standard
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it is taking comment on the air quality impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and will complete a study…
Blog
EPA’s Wheeler Responds to Renewable Fuel Standard Questions
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held its confirmation hearing for acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler on January 16th. The Renewable Fuel…
Blog
Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Changes to Mercury Air Rule
On December 28th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to rescind the Obama EPA’s justification for its 2012 Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. MATS…
Blog
VIDEO: What Qualifies as a ‘Water’ of the United States?
Our friends at the Regulatory Transparency Project have created a great new video to help explain the legal impact of the Clean Water Act and…
Blog
EPA Takes on Costly, Unnecessary Wood Heater Regulations
The Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency cranked out so many bad major rules that it was hard to pay attention to all the also-bad, but relatively…
Blog
Attacks on Trump Administration Environmental Federalism Fall Short
Today’s Energy & Environment News (subscription required) has an article titled “Wheeler preaches federalism on water, not cars.” The gist is that various critics claim…
News Release
EPA’s New Proposed Rule on Emissions for Coal Plants Will Safeguard Affordable Energy for Consumers
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new proposed rule, rescinding the Obama Administration’s carbon dioxide emission standards for new coal power plants.
News Release
CEI Expert Says EU Proposal to Ban Single-Use Consumer Plastic Items “Won’t Help the Environment”
On Wednesday, the European Union put forward a proposal to ban ten single-use plastic items, including straws and cotton swabs, by 2021. The proposal is…
CNS News
Vehicle Tailpipe Emissions Are SAFE
The Trump administration has proposed to freeze Obama-era fuel economy standards at 2020 levels to save lives and money. Opponents want to bring the proposed…
Blog
Is Particulate Matter Air Pollution as Dangerous as Cancer?
Yesterday the Competitive Enterprise Institute published Steve Milloy’s new policy brief on the impact of revised federal rules for auto mileage and emissions, “Will the Trump…
News Release
Report – Tailpipe Emissions Are SAFE: Trump Fuel Economy Reform Will Not Cause Air Pollution Deaths
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report debunks false claims that the Trump administration plan to scale back government fuel efficiency mandates poses an offsetting risk…
Study
Will the Trump Fuel Economy Reform Proposal Create Deadly Air Pollution?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have proposed to partially roll back the corporate average fuel economy…
Blog
Bricks and Wood Heaters Also Need Relief from Obama-era Overreach
Several of the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency’s most expensive and far-reaching Clean Air Act regulations are back in the news now that the Trump administration is…
Blog
Three States Join California in Raising Air Conditioning, Refrigeration Costs
Maryland, New York, and Connecticut are following California’s lead in proposing restrictions on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the class of refrigerants widely used…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Environmental Protection Agency Veto Power over Development Projects
In 2013, organizations from coast-to-coast called on then-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to reject an unprecedented decision on Pebble Mine and warned…
Blog
New York State’s Proposed Plastic Bag Ban: Assaulting an American Dream
I recently wrote a blog post about entrepreneur Eli Amsel, who reached out to me about how nanny state regulators and lawmakers have waged war…
Blog
EPA Proposes Rule To Replace ‘Clean Power’ Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency on August 21st released its proposed rule to replace the “Clean Power” Plan (CPP). The rule, which is called the …
Blog
Reform Federal Process for Environmental Permits
The Trump administration has initiated several steps to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including resource extraction and infrastructure. In particular, it has focused…
Suburban Newspapers Inc.
Another Climate Change Concern: Soil May Be Belching Carbon
Suburban Newspapers Inc. cited Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis Jr. on carbon pollution. In a blog post last year, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which…
Blog
Will Trump Auto Rule End California’s Regulation of Fuel Economy?
The Trump administration is expected tomorrow to release its proposed revisions of the Obama administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and motor vehicle greenhouse…
News Channel 8
Plastic Straw Ban: Will this Decision Help Our Environment?
News Channel 8 cited CEI’s Angela Logomasini on the plastic straw ban. This week we’ve reported on the new decision companies like Starbucks…
Reason
Plastic Straw Myths
Reason’s John Stossel cited Angela Logomasini on banning plastic straws. Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow at Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Tate that “the…
The Washington Times
Plastic Straw Bans Won’t Save Oceans: ‘We’re Trading a Lot for Nothing’
The Washington Times cited CEI’s Angela Logomasini on Starbucks’ recent plastic straw ban. “It’s a symbolic effort that isn’t going to help anything,”…
Blog
Reforming ‘Waters of the United States’ Critical for Economic Growth
The Waters of the United States rule vastly expanded government control over land in America and is one of the prime examples of the…
Inside Sources
Counterpoint: Plastic Bans Won’t Solve Ocean Plastic Problem
Proposed “solutions” to mounting plastic waste in the ocean continue to border on the absurd — suggesting that banning straws, bags and other consumer products…
Blog
Misfiring on All Cylinders: New York Times’ Attack on Pruitt’s Fuel Economy Reset
Greenhouse gas/fuel economy standards encourage automakers to reduce average vehicle size and weight. That is hardly surprising. It takes less fuel to move smaller, lighter…
Blog
Liberate Dishwashers from Federal Efficiency Mandates
Thirty-five years ago dishwashers cleaned dishes in about an hour. Sadly, today there are no dishwashers that do so due to federal government regulations. This…
Blog
Everything You Need to Know about the Clean Power Plan
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, nineteen other state attorneys general, and the head of the Mississippi department of environmental quality recently filed a superb …
Blog
Clean Power Plan: Just Repeal, Don’t Replace
The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of repealing President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the principal regulatory component of his Paris Climate Treaty emission-reduction…
The Washington Examiner
What CEOs Still Want from Trump: A Deregulation Wishlist
The Washington Examiner discusses deregulation with Myron Ebell. America’s CEOs have a long wish list for the regulatory rollback President Trump has promised to…
The Washington Examiner
Anti-Climate Change Hawks Have a Bone to Pick with Trump, Too
The Washington Examiner discusses the endangerment finding with Myron Ebell. Climate change opponents are joining environmentalists in criticizing President Trump for not mentioning climate…
OneNewsNow
Manmade Pollutants Now Blamed for Global Cooling
OneNewsNow discusses a change in the rhetoric surrounding manmade pollutants with Chris Horner. The same “climate change” scientists and activists who have claimed for…
Bloomberg Politics
Trump Plays Down Health Hazard in Justifying Climate Rule Repeal
Bloomberg Politics quotes Myron Ebell on the importance of curbing Carbon Dioxide and how that should pose a greater priority to the Trump administration.
Blog
Debunking the ‘Race to the Bottom’ Theory of Regulatory Competition
Its success in policymaking notwithstanding, the "race to the bottom" theory has fared poorly with the passage of time.
The Hill
‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Is Back in Trump Era
The Department of the Interior on Jan. 4 released the draft of an Outer Continental Shelf oil and natural gas leasing plan that would dramatically…
Blog
Will Trump EPA Reconsider California Greenhouse Gas Waiver?
The Trump Justice Department will no longer use Clean Air Act enforcement penalties to provide multibillion-dollar subsidies for electric vehicle infrastructure.
Blog
A Banner Year for Deregulation on Energy, Climate, and Environment
2017 has been a banner year for advancing free market policies across the board on energy, climate, and environmental issues.
The Daily Caller
Trump’s EPA Chief Says Obama ‘Short-Shrifted’ the Proper Process to Regulate CO2
The Daily Caller covers statements made by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and a petition CEI filed with the EPA to reconsider the endangerment finding.
The Daily Caller
Pruitt Is Right To Withdraw Obama’s ‘Clean Power Plan’
Tom Harris, in an op-ed for The Daily Caller cites an article by Marlo Lewis, Jr. regarding the Clean Power Plan. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator…
OneNewsNow
How Could EPA Avoid ‘Sue and Settle’ Problem?
OneNewsNow discusses the EPA’s “sue and settle” directive with Chris Horner. Lawsuits involving environmental groups and the EPA may not be going away, even…
Politico
New Challenge to Endangerment Finding
Politico’s Morning Energy covers a coalition letter, led by CEI, urging the EPA to review the “endangerment finding.” A group of 60 skeptics of…
The Daily Caller
Conservatives Renew Campaign to Invalidate a Key Pillar of Obama’s Global Warming Legacy
The Daily Caller covers our joint letter with the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) with 60 climate and health experts urging the EPA to reconsider…
Newsmax
EPA Proposes Clean Break with Dirty Energy Politics
Newsmax discusses the EPA’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Marlo Lewis. Last week, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued…
The Washington Examiner
Repealing the Clean Power Plan Will Benefit All Americans
Although there is no shortage of policy reasons to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the plan also exceeds the legal authority delegated to the EPA…
The Washington Examiner
EPA Has ‘Plenty of Tools’ to Battle Climate Change Without Obama Regulations, Experts Say
The Washington Examiner discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt could…
The Guardian
Fightback Begins Over Trump’s ‘Illegal and Irresponsible’ Clean Power Repeal
The Guardian discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. The US is set for a fresh battle…
The Washington Free Beacon
Clean Power Plan Repeal Will Save $33 Billion in Compliance Costs
The Washington Free Beacon covers the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Repealing the Clean Power Plan will save $33 billion…
The Daily Caller
Despite EPA Actions, Obama’s Climate Agenda ‘Has Not Been Fully Dismantled Yet’
The Daily Caller discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. While Republicans and industry groups cheer the…
Breitbart
EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Proposes to Save $33 Billion with Repeal of Obama-Era Energy Plan
Breitbart covers the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed to repeal the agency’s…
Bloomberg Politics
Trump Plays Down Health Hazard in Making Climate Rule Repeal
Bloomberg Politics discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. When President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to pare emissions from…
The Hill
Overnight Energy: EPA to Propose Clean Power Plan Repeal
The Hill covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt announced Monday that the formal proposal…
Breitbart
Exclusive–Trump’s EPA Transition Chair Myron Ebell: ‘Scrapping’ Clean Power Plan ‘Key Part of Deregulatory Agenda’
Breitbart covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Myron Ebell, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) director of Energy and Environment programs and…
Breitbart
Exclusive: EPA Document Proposes to Eliminate Clean Power Plan ‘in Its Entirety’
Breitbart covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to repeal the agency’s Obama-era climate change program,…
HuffPost
Trump Administration to Propose Scrapping Major Obama-Era Climate Change Policy
HuffPost covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The Trump administration is poised to scrap a policy limiting greenhouse gas emissions from…
The Daily Caller
Trump Will Soon Unveil His Own ‘Global Warming’ Policy – Here’s What That Might Look Like
The Daily Caller discusses the possible replacement of the Clean Power Plan with Will Yeatman. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to repeal…
Staff & Scholars
Myron Ebell
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Angela Logomasini
Adjunct Fellow
- Chemical Risk
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy and Environment
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government