Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
The coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, in Juliette, Ga. Photo: Branden Camp / AP
The Trump administration is taking a preliminary step toward regulating carbon emissions from America's power plants, according to a document obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The move, which has been expected from the Environmental Protection Agency, comes after the administration began the process earlier this year to repeal former President Obama's more sweeping rule cutting power-plant carbon emissions.
The big picture: This is the first concrete effort by the administration to try to replace, instead of wholly repeal, Obama's environmental and climate regulatory agenda. Across the Trump administration, agencies have been repealing a host of environmental regulations, but it takes a lot of time and staff hours to repeal and, in some instances like this one, eventually replace.
Gritty details:
- The regulatory step, known as an advanced notice of proposed rule making, seeks public input on how the agency can cut carbon emissions from power plants.
- The move is a tacit acknowledgment by the EPA that it is not, for now anyway, going to try to review a scientific finding concluding that greenhouse gas omissions are endangering the public health and welfare. That finding, issued in 2009 during the Obama administration, is the scientific and legal underpinning that requires some sort of carbon regulation on power plants.
- The next step would be a proposed rule, which is expected sometime next year.