The Biden transition team has released a list of agency actions that the heads of each agency will review in the coming weeks. The list seeks to reverse many Trump Era regulatory rollbacks of rules and regulations primarily impacting the environment. A number of the changes will impact the industrial minerals industry, including: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 108 (b) issue for hardrock mining, the new Navigable Water rule, the new National Environmental Protection Act rule (which took effect in September, 2020, and has generated a significant amount of litigation), Sage Grouse plans, TSCA, Migratory Bird Rule among others. The full list includes 104 regulations will be reviewed pursuant to Executive Order: “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The press release also indicated that additional agency actions will also be reviewed to determine consistency with Section 1 of the Executive Order, but was not more specific.
It is also worth noting that, the Biden Administration has the ability to use the Congressional Review Act on some of these rules that were implemented within the last 60 legislative days (or mid-May 2020). The new Administration will also have the ability to revisit older rulemakings and make adjustments through the notice and comment process.
Comments