Deregulatory “Sunset Rules” Would Gut Environmental Laws
NJ Must Take Control Of Its Own State Interests
I’ve been warning for months about Trump’s radical all out assault on federal environmental, natural resource, and public health protections, being done under the Project 2025 slogan of “dismantling the administrative State”.
As predicted, two recent Executive Orders by Trump further and in more detail direct federal agencies to do exactly that. (please hit the links below and read these Orders!)
A host of federal agencies (including EPA and the Departments of Interior, Energy, and Agriculture) are required to adopt “Sunset rules” that would phase out existing regulations by September 30, 2025 and to do so unilaterally with no opportunity for public notice and comment. A comprehensive suite of Environmental Laws are specifically targeted.
Yet the Murphy Administration and Democratic lawmakers are doing little or nothing to protect State interest from this assault.
While these Orders are blatantly illegal, NJ must do far more than file individual lawsuits.
The State must take its interests in its own hands and not rely on the federal courts. The Governor, Legislature and the DEP must act as comprehensively, quickly and radically as Trump has. They must mount a campaign to educate the public and encourage widespread public support to resist the Trump deregulatory agenda.
I wrote the following letter to again attempt to get a response from Trenton policy makers:
Dear Senate Chairmen – I write to you concerning the need for a strategic response to extreme and illegal Executive Orders recently signed by President Trump, see:
ZERO-BASED REGULATORY BUDGETING TO UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY
DIRECTING THE REPEAL OF UNLAWFUL REGULATIONS
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/directing-the-repeal-of-unlawful-regulations
These Orders target environmental and public health regulatory protections and direct several federal agencies to insert – without following APA notice and comment rulemaking procedures – sunset provisions in regulations.
Federal agencies must:
“identify certain categories of unlawful and potentially unlawful regulations within 60 days and begin plans to repeal them.“
The compliance date for issuing these so called “sunset rules” is September 30, 2025.
In addition, a prior Trump Executive Order declared a fake “energy emergency”, which targeted and provides a basis to waive numerous federal regulations, see:
DECLARING A NATIONAL ENERGY EMERGENCY
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency/
The declared “energy emergency” also can be used by federal agencies to support invoking the federal APA exemptions to requirements to follow notice and comment rulemaking procedures.
NJ’s environment, public health, and State regulatory framework will be adversely impacted by this Trump federal deregulatory initiative.
The deregulatory orders would also impact federal lands and natural resources that NJ residents strongly support, like federal lands, National Parks & Forests, wildlife, waters, air quality, and climate stability.
The NJ Legislature and the Department of Environmental Protection must develop a legally valid State strategy to counter this deregulatory madness.
I have previously suggested options – yet there has been no response and there is no State strategy or program in motion to respond to these threats that I am aware of, other than a handful of lawsuits that can not begin to address the deregulatory threats.
You need to get moving – NOW – and moving at least as fast and as aggressively as the Trump administration is.
I look forward to your prompt and favorable reply.
Bill Wolfe
Citizen