McCarthy Says States' Innovation May Be Key To Exiting Trump EPA 'Morass'

摘要

Obama EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says the Trump administration's abandonment of environmental regulation is forcing states to take the lead in protecting public health and the environment, and innovation happening with such policies at the state and local level will be key to "how we build out of the morass we're in now." In an Oct. 19 keynote address to the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources virtual fall conference, McCarthy said that under "cooperative federalism," or the shared regulatory responsibility between the federal government and states under many federal environmental laws, the roles of states and EPA are always in tension, but the question is whether that tension "is a healthy one." The Trump EPA has put states under tremendous pressure by rolling back federal regulations, and "states are now the primary movers" on environmental matters "because the federal government has stepped aside," she said.