Trump administration announces ‘illegal’ rollback of energy and water efficiency standards
The US Energy Department says it’s rolling back long-standing efficiency standards for appliances, which advocates are calling a clear violation of the law. Continuing the Trump administration’s assault on federal water and energy efficiency programs, the department announced today what it’s calling its “largest deregulatory effort in history.”
The agency is trying to rollback 47 regulations it says are “burdensome and costly,” including more than a dozen efficiency standards for appliances and battery chargers. The proposed rules target the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which contains an anti-backsliding provision — and that the Trump administration is seemingly trying to bypass.
“If this attack on consumers succeeds, President Trump would be raising costs dramatically for families as manufacturers dump energy- and water-wasting products into the market. Fortunately, it’s patently illegal, so hold your horses,” Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, said in a press statement released today.
“Fortunately, it’s patently illegal, so hold your horses.”
The Energy Department didn’t immediately respond to a press inquiry from The Verge asking why it believes its proposals do not violate EPCA, which passed Congress in 1975 and had the anti-backsliding provision added in 1987. …read more
