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Monday, June 3, 2019 - 16:00

President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration, with help from Republicans in Congress, has often targeted environmental rules it sees as burdensome to the fossil fuel industry and other big businesses.

A New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law SchoolColumbia Law School and other sources, counts more than 80 environmental rules and regulations on the way out under Mr. Trump.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - 17:15

Vast amounts of wetlands and thousands of miles of U.S. waterways would no longer be federally protected by the Clean Water Act under a new proposal by the Trump administration.

The proposal, announced Tuesday at the Environmental Protection Agency, would change the EPA's definition of "waters of the United States," or WOTUS, limiting the types of waterways that fall under federal protection to major waterways, their tributaries, adjacent wetlands and a few other categories

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - 17:15

The Trump administration has taken aim at removing environmental federal protections for wetlands and isolated streams from pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a proposal redefining US waters under the Clean Water Act.

Monday, December 10, 2018 - 17:15

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expected on Tuesday to unveil a plan that would weaken federal clean water rules designed to protect millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of miles of streams nationwide from pesticide runoff and other pollutants.

Environmentalists say the proposal represents a historic assault on wetlands regulation at a moment when Mr. Trump has repeatedly voiced a commitment to “crystal-clean water.” The proposed new rule would chip away at safeguards put in place a quarter century ago, during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, who implemented a policy designed to ensure that no wetlands lost federal protection.

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Monday, January 29, 2018 - 10:00

Today, the environmental protections we take for granted face an existential threat. California, with our capable state environmental institutions and political will, is uniquely positioned to respond to President Trump’s anti-environmental agenda. We can do this by enacting state backstops for environmental protections the Trump Administration targets for elimination. The health of California’s citizens and our magnificent environment demand nothing less.

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 10:00

To anyone who believes environmental regulation is poison for profits, California must be infuriating. The state’s pollution policies rarely wilt its perennially blooming economy. For the past nine years, a Golden State-centric think tank Next 10 has been releasing its California Green Innovation Index. The results this year show a continuing trend: For two and a half decades, California’s GDP and population have continued to rise, while per capita carbon dioxide emissions have stayed flat.

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 09:45

California has long been an environmental leader, adopting strong laws to protect the air, water and land that often, eventually, become national policy. Yet the task of setting and enforcing environmental standards is a huge one, and even Green California has relied on the federal government to handle much of that work.

That hasn’t been a problem for most of the last 50 years. The state has frequently worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S Department of Fish and Wildlife and other federal agencies to safeguard public health and natural resources.

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Tuesday, August 22, 2017 - 11:15

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — A coalition of Los Angeles community groups this week called on the area’s state legislators to support a package of bills designed to protect the region’s water and air from federal attempts to weaken environmental safeguards. The package is authored by area legislators Senate President pro Tem Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles), Senator Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park), Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), and Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills).

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Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 15:30

 Legislation introduced that would require state agencies in Illinois to enforce environmental standards adopted under the Obama Administration, if those standards are rolled back under Trump is nearly identical to one advancing in the California legislature.

The Illinois bill, HB 1438, co-sponsored by Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville), is nearly identical to one that cleared the California Senate with a substantial majority in late May. California’s SB 49 could reach the floor in the Assembly by late September.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - 15:00

The head of President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency may not be prepared to battle California over air regulations, but the man who led Trump's transition team for the department is ready.

Myron Ebell, who works at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington and helped devise Trump's environmental agenda, said California should not be allowed to set its own standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle tailpipes.

The state has that authority under a Clean Air Act waiver granted by President Obama, one of dozens that have been issued over the years. 

California said it would push forward on greenhouse gas rules earlier this year even though the Trump administration has opened the door to rolling them back on the federal level. 

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