A Trump administration move to revoke a 16-year-old scientific finding that helped reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector could have “serious and far-reaching consequences” for Oregonians, state environmental regulators said.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality submitted formal comments to the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday over its decision to revoke a 2009 endangerment finding.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Monday that the finding is not political, and it’s based on “overwhelming scientific research and confirmed by the Supreme Court.”

“To take away the Endangerment Finding puts Oregon’s climate plan at risk, weakens years of progress towards reducing greenhouse gases, and makes communities, especially those near highways and high-traffic commercial routes, even more vulnerable to air pollution, heatwaves, and more dangerous climate events,” Kotek said in the statement.

In July, the EPA announced it was revoking the endangerment finding, which has been used to set stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. The scientific finding focused on six greenhouse gas emissions found in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide and methane — powerful carbon emissions, that threaten public health and welfare.

It took effect in 2010 and was used by past presidential administrations to set stricter rules and limits on greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as well as other industrial sectors.

If the federal action is finalized, the Trump administration said the EPA would “repeal all resulting greenhouse gas emissions regulations for motor vehicles and engines, thereby reinstating consumer choice…”

The Trump administration has already overturned several federal climate action policies. And it has rescinded billions of dollars of funding aimed toward the renewable energy transition, which could have helped lower emissions from the transportation sector.

At the time of the announcement, the EPA said it was revoking the finding to provide “clarity and regulatory relief” to both companies and consumers when purchasing a vehicle.

According to DEQ senior transportation policy advisor Gerik Kransky, the transportation sector accounts for 35% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the state has built programs, like the Climate Protection Program and the Oregon Clean Fuels program, that rely on federal standards to help the state lower its carbon emissions. Rescinding the endangerment finding puts every state’s climate plan at risk, Kransky said, and it would undercut over a decade of progress.

“The extra challenge here is that since that original Endangerment Finding, the science hasn’t weakened. It’s become stronger,” he said.

“The health risks haven’t gone away. They’ve grown, and the technologies that we need to cut pollution are ready. They’re cost effective. They’re already on the road. And so this proposal is a big step backward. It’s a threat to the tools that we need to protect our health, our climate, and our future here in Oregon.”

According to DEQ’s comments, public health would suffer first.

“Oregonians, especially children, older adults, and communities near major highways and freight hubs, would face increased risks of asthma, heart disease, and premature death from higher levels of smog and particulate pollution. Climate-related hazards such as wildfires, heat waves, and drought, which are already increasing mortality and adverse health outcomes, disrupting the economy, and straining health care systems, would become more frequent and severe without federal action to limit greenhouse gases,” the state’s formal comments said.

Although the finding does not impact Oregon’s authority to run current programs, Kransky said it could affect how the state reduces emissions from the transportation sector and improves public health.

“This is a really important moment for Oregon DEQ and Oregonians more broadly to stand up in support of science-based decision making,” Kransky said. “We think the science on this issue is clear, and we think that the EPA needs to do its job and continue to regulate climate emissions from transportation and other sources.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/22/donald-trump-administration-oregon-department-environmental-quality/