Ohio groups warn EPA rollback could shift climate costs

By Farah Siddiqi

An Ohio environmental group and a Northeast Ohio legal expert say the Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of the federal Endangerment Finding could reshape how air pollution is regulated, with consequences reaching local communities.

The EPA announced it is rescinding the 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, a determination that has underpinned federal climate regulations for more than a decade.

Joe Flarida, executive director of Power a Clean Future Ohio, said the move shifts responsibility and potential costs closer to home.

"The Environmental Protection Agency ruled that they no longer have the authority to regulate harmful air pollution that is driving climate change," said Flaida. "And the scale of this decision is incredibly detrimental to the future of our planet, to the well-being of our communities, to the safety of children, to our own health."

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has argued the Clean Air Act does not authorize regulation of greenhouse gases, and the repeal is expected to face legal challenges in federal court.

Miranda Lepla, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, says the Endangerment Finding stems from a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling surrounding the Clean Air Act.

"The purpose of the Clean Air Act is to protect the health of the public," said Lepla. "That is the gist of what the Clean Air Act does, and they do that by regulating dangerous pollutants that pose a risk to our public health and to everyone's health in every corner of the United States."

Environmental advocates say Ohio’s local governments are already preparing for rising infrastructure and public health costs linked to extreme weather.

Supporters of the rollback argue it restores limits on federal authority. Legal challenges could determine how future administrations can regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.