Wyoming Officials Celebrate EPA’s Repeal of ‘Endangerment Finding’ as Environmental Groups Vow Legal Fight

Wyoming’s political and energy leaders are celebrating Thursday’s repeal of a landmark 2009 Environmental Protection Agency rule that declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, while environmental organizations promise immediate legal challenges. The so-called “Endangerment Finding” has served as the legal foundation for federal climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for 16 years.

President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal as “the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” claiming it will save American taxpayers over $1.3 trillion. Zeldin characterized the original finding as using climate change as a weapon, calling it the “Holy Grail” of the “climate change religion.”

For Wyoming’s fossil fuel industries, the reversal is a long-awaited victory. Travis Deti of the Wyoming Mining Association said the finding undergirded decisions to shut down coal plants by labeling carbon dioxide a threat to human existence. “The impact of this cannot be understated,” Deti said. Rusty Bell of Gillette’s Energy Capital Economic Development praised the move as good for coal and American energy reliability.

But environmental advocates argue the repeal ignores settled science. Rebecca Sobel of WildEarth Guardians called it “an extraordinary rejection of decades of scientific evidence” and predicted immediate court challenges. David Pettit of the Center for Biological Diversity said the decision rejects scientific consensus on climate change and will lead to increased emissions from vehicles.

Wyoming’s Republican congressional delegation applauded the move. Sen. John Barrasso called the original finding an abuse rooted in political expediency, not science. Rep. Harriet Hageman said it reins in years of regulatory overreach that drove up energy costs.

The legal battle over the repeal is expected to begin swiftly.