Environmental Deregulation Under President Trump: Business As Usual?

The Trump Administration is expected to issue a high-profile executive order that seeks to eliminate a major Obama-era environmental measure, the Clean Power Plan. But will this and any future deregulation rhetoric come to fruition in time to affect the private sector? 

Yes and no, says Scott Fulton, the president of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). The Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations certainly have targets on their backs, but the process for dismantling those regulations is itself so time-consuming and complex that President Trump may be on the doorstep of reelection before the dust settles on any significant changes. 

"Deregulation requires rulemaking," Fulton said. "As you hear about rules being taken down, it's important to view that process as a progression. These things will not happen overnight."