First, a reminder. There were several consequential environmental regulations passed under the Biden Administration that have yet to be addressed under President Trump. One of the more significant rules passed last spring was the Clean Water Act – Facility Response Plan (see our May 2, 2024, blog). We continue to track these regulations and their deadlines as well as the changing environmental policies.
Environmental Justice
Just a quick mention of two more Executive Orders (EO). To the surprise of no one, Environmental Justice (EJ), a significant focus of the Biden Administration, is being rescinded under the Trump Administration. Several EOs address EJ, but the two primary orders are:
Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
EPA’s Five Pillars
Now that Lee Zeldin has been confirmed as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, we are beginning to get an idea of his approach to environmental protection. As we stated in our January 27, 2025, blog, he has previously supported PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) legislation and has expressed his concern about climate change. Recently (February 4, 2025), Zeldin announced EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” Initiative. According to the Press Release, the EPA will consist of five pillars.
Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American
Pillar 2: Restore American Energy Dominance
Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership
Pillar 4: Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World
Pillar 5: Protecting and Bringing Back American Auto Jobs
The theme of Clean Air and Clean Water is supported by the Environmental Advisory Task Force.
Environmental Advisory Task Force
The first of the EPA’s recently announced Five Pillars is Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American (Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash).
President Trump is difficult to pigeonhole into the typical “right” or “left” categories. With news reports stating that as many as 1,000 EPA staff will be let go, there has been concern about environmental protection. But his choice for Environmental Task Force Advisor might suggest otherwise.
In a 2017 article by E & E News (Politico), they describe President Trump’s appointee (Ed Russo) to lead the White House Environmental Advisory Task Force as, “an anomaly. He describes himself as a ‘dirt-kisser tree hugger’ and an ‘environmental crusader.’ He’s also a Trump loyalist.”
As stated in an Inside EPA article (Paywall), “Ed Russo, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the White House’s Environmental Advisory Task Force, is promising to aggressively implement ‘practical, commonsense’ environmental solutions, pointing to a series of water quality, drinking water, climate and other pressing issues in need of addressing.”
Mr. Russo is the co-founder of RussKap Water, a company that extracts atmospheric water for drinking water. In his bio, it states that he is a member of several voluntary and government boards….President of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, Member of the Board of Directors of Reef Relief, Member of the Monroe County Climate Change Advisory Board, Member of the Board of Directors of the College of the Florida Keys Foundation, and Member of the Planning Board of the City of Key West.
Russo is a friend of the President and has written a book calling Trump an Environmental Hero, Russo also admits to getting into shouting matches with the President.
Ed Russo in a Recent Webinar
Below are some quotes from Mr. Russo from a February 4, 2025, webinar hosted by ConserveAmerica.
“President Donald J. Trump’s directive to me is to get going. . . . We’ve talked for hours about air and water quality, and he’s all about that — he may not be a water nerd like me, but you know he’s very into it. He’s giving me free rein to knock down the doors and get stuff done.”
“[Trump’s] directive to me is a commonsense, practical approach to get the [EPA] to do the work that they were supposed to do. Because when you become employed in the EPA, it’s not because you want to get rich, it’s because you want to do something better for humanity.”
“I’m frustrated at the government and environmental agencies that are buying into this ‘let’s talk about climate change instead of rolling up our sleeves and fixing the problem in the field or the ocean today.’ You want to talk about that, Donald Trump is leading the way.”
“So farming is, I hope I’m not insulting anybody, but farming, believe it or not, is the biggest polluter in the world. Sorry, it’s just a fact,” he said, but added that there are “sound environmental principles that [farmers] can fold into their process that will be much better for the environment and much more profitable in their bank accounts.”
Russo identified several environmental concerns, specifically on water quality, citing concerns regarding pharmaceutical contamination in water systems that he says could “destroy” the fishing industry.
Russo also expressed genuine concern regarding lead in drinking water and pointed to Flint, Michigan, and said that lead in drinking water is a much larger problem than just Flint.
While it appears that President Trump will not take the typical path in environmental protection – it appears to be an important issue for his second term.
Finally, separate from the developments in Washington D.C., environmental compliance continues to be an important obligation for the regulated community. We believe that, as during the first Trump Administration, the states will take the lead on environmental compliance. Maintaining compliance is important regardless of who is in the White House.
Environmental Advice
Dragun Corporation has been assisting the regulated community with environmental compliance, assessment/remediation, and litigation support since 1988. If you need assistance with an environmental issue, including litigation support, contact Jeffrey Bolin, M.S., CHMM, at 248-932-0228, Ext. 125.
Dragun Corporation does not use artificial intelligence to write our blogs or any other material.
Alan Hahn drafted this blog. Alan has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and completed a graduate program in Environmental Management. He has worked in environmental management for more than 45 years. He has written hundreds of blogs and articles. His published work includes Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Detroiter, Michigan Forward, GreenStone Partners, Manure Manager Magazine, Progressive Dairy, and HazMat Magazine.
Jeffrey Bolin, M.S., reviewed this blog. Jeff is a partner and senior scientist at Dragun Corporation. He is a published author, frequent speaker, and expert witness. His expertise in environmental due diligence, PFAS, vapor intrusion, and site assessments has led to projects in the US, Canada, and overseas. See Jeff’s Bio.
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