On April 7, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the Agency is rescinding Guidance on the Preparation of Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 179B Demonstrations for Nonattainment Areas Affected by International Transport of Emissions.
Last month, the EPA also announced in a news release it’s tackling the troubled “Good Neighbor Plan.” The release reiterated the current administration’s “commitment to advance cooperative federalism and work with states on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that were nearly universally rejected by the Biden-Harris Administration.”
The “Good Neighbor Plan” rule for 23 states was finalized by the Agency on March 15, 2023, to address the interstate transport of air pollution, which impacts National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
“In doing so, the Biden-Harris Administration expanded the federal rules to more states and sectors beyond this program’s traditional focus on power plants and subsequently rejected 19 SIPs and partially rejected 2 SIPs,” the news release states. “This heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all, federal mandate was emblematic of a larger regulatory onslaught that guided agency action and rules. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the rule, finding that it was likely unreasonable and irrational in key respects.”
International emissions guidance rescinded
“This guidance made it unnecessarily difficult for states to demonstrate that foreign air pollution is harming Americans within their borders. Following the rescission of the guidance, EPA intends to work with state and local air agencies to develop the evidence necessary to grant regulatory relief under CAA Section 179b,” the EPA’s release continues.
“Americans should not be harmed by other countries that do not have the same environmental standards we have in the United States,” Zeldin said. “Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction. Not only are we eliminating cumbersome red tape that placed excessive burden on states to prove emissions were from an international source, but we are also helping states across our nation prosper while ensuring they continue to provide clean air for their residents.”
States shouldn’t be penalized for air pollution beyond their control, including pollution crossing international borders into the United States, the EPA’s release suggests.
As an example, wildfires in Canada have triggered health warnings in the United States for 2 consecutive years, according to Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine. Impacted states include Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The CAA provides regulatory relief when an area would have attained NAAQS but for international transport of emissions.
“This announcement follows Administrator Zeldin’s trip to Arizona two weeks ago, where elected officials and business leaders shared this problem as one of their highest priorities. This action acknowledges the significant challenges identified by Arizona and other states,” according to the EPA’s news release.
Additionally, on March 5, 2025, the EPA also announced it has agreed to reconsider its determination that the Northern Wasatch Front, Utah, area failed to attain the 2015 Ozone NAAQS in a timely manner and the resulting reclassification of the area from moderate to serious nonattainment. This will include a review of Utah’s demonstration of impacts from international air emissions. The EPA will carefully reconsider its earlier decision and assess the impact of international emissions before completing its reconsideration.