ADMINISTRATION ORDERS DOE & NRC TO SUNSET REGULATIONS

On Wednesday, April 9, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy”, requiring that the the Department of Energy (DOE); Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), add “sunset” dates to regulations related to energy production. Regulations would effectively expire after the implemented sunset date. The EO would also impact sub-agencies of the Department of Interior (DOI) such as the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). 

It directs all affected agencies to issue a rule by September 30, 2025, that would insert a "conditional" sunset date of September 30, 2026 into their regulations. Regulations would expire on that date unless "the agency finds an extension is warranted." The sunset date can be extended "as many times as is appropriate, but never to a date more than 5 years in the future," according to the EO. The EO does not lay out any specific criteria for an agency to determine how an extension may be warranted, saying only that it should come after the agency offers the "public an opportunity to comment on the costs and benefits of each regulation."

The EO also grants the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the power to exempt any rule that would have "a net deregulatory effect."

A rule will cease to be effective after its sunset date, according to the EO. "An agency shall not take any action to enforce such an ineffective regulation and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, shall remove it from the Code of Federal Regulations," the EO stated.

To read the President’s EO, click here. 

ECA will continue to provide updates on how the Administration’s actions will affect energy communities. To learn more, visit our website.