"Trump’s Environmental Agenda Is Crashing Into The Courts"

"Pruitt used to sue the EPA. Now he’s being sued for what he’s doing with it."

"Donald Trump made clear on the campaign trail that he intends to “get rid of” the Environmental Protection Agency and many of its Obama-era regulations.

And in its first six months, his administration has overturned or halted nearly two dozen environmental policies and significantly backed off enforcement of environmental pollution laws. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who sued the EPA 14 times in his previous post as attorney general of Oklahoma, has been leading the charge.

But rolling back Obama-era environmental protections is actually not that easy. There are laws that govern how the EPA can change its policies. And the courts are proving to be a considerable obstacle to the Trump agenda.

In June, for example, the EPA announced plans to delay implementation of a 2015 regulation to reduce smog-forming pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes. But then last week, 16 state attorneys general sued the EPA over the delay. A day after the lawsuit was filed, the EPA reversed its earlier announcement and ditched the delay."

Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna reports for Vox August 11, 2017.