President Trump’s week-one Executive Orders signal significant changes coming to environmental law

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump kickstarted his second term in office with a flurry of more than 100 Executive Orders (EOs) and presidential directives, several of which aim to directly impact and significantly transform environmental and energy law and policy.

Below, we take a closer look at the EOs and what they mean for stakeholders.

Executive Orders

“Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions:” This EO revokes over 75 EOs and other executive actions previously issued by former President Joe Biden. Of particular note, this EO revokes:

• EO 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” and a follow-on EO 14091, “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”
• EO 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis”
• EO 14082, “Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” which directed federal agencies to prioritize environmental justice and fenceline communities when implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), one of President Biden’s signature legislative achievements

Moreover, this initial Trump EO revoked Biden EOs related to environmental justice enforcement, sustainability, climate adaptation, and resilience planning, including:

• EO 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”
• EO 14052, “Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act”
• EO 14057, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability”
• EO14096,“Revitalizing our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All”

“Regulatory Freeze Pending Review:” As is commonplace during an administration change, this EO imposes a regulatory freeze on agency rulemakings and other similar regulatory actions. It allows the Trump Administration to refrain from proposing or issuing new rules in the immediate future and to withdraw rules sent for publishing, but that have not yet been published in the Federal Register itself. It also authorizes agency heads to delay the effective date of any rule published in the Federal Register, or any similar regulatory actions that have been issued but not yet taken effect (e.g., guidance documents and policy memoranda), for 60 days so that the new administration can review questions of fact, law, and policy that any such rule raises. The order also permits reopening the public comment periods for such rules, which could delay them beyond planned effective dates, or lead to significant rule revisions or rescissions altogether. Key environmental rulemakings subject to this freeze include recent United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) interim decisions on pesticides like ethylene oxide, EPA’s proposed amendments to air emission reporting requirements, and Clean Water Act effluent limitations and standards for PFAS manufacturers.

“Declaring a National Energy Emergency:” This EO declares the United States’ energy and critical mineral identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, and generation capacity inadequate, and states that an affordable domestic energy supply is fundamental to national and economic security. It authorizes agencies to exercise emergency authorities to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources.

The EO also directs agencies to expedite the completion of infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects, and to facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast, the Northeast, and Alaska. It further directs the Secretary of the Army to identify “energy supply projects that may be subject to emergency treatment” under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Importantly, Section 404 permits the Army Corps of Engineers to bypass its typical approvals and timelines in order to expedite those projects it deems subject to “emergency treatment.”

Moreover, the EO directs agencies to utilize maximum authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) emergency consultation regulations to facilitate the ordered enhancements to energy supply and provide status reports every 30 days during the declared emergency. The EO also directs the ESA committee to evaluate the ESA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act in order to identify potential reforms needed to overcome obstacles to effectuating the ordered energy initiative.

“Unleashing American Energy:” In this EO, President Trump proposes eliminating what he describes as former President Biden’s “electric vehicle (EV) mandate,” in part by terminating California’s emissions regulation pre-emption waiver that effectively limits the sale of internal combustion engines under the Clean Air Act (CAA), in addition to eliminating EV credits and incentives. The President also directed federal agencies to pause appropriated fund disbursements under the IRA and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and instructed the Secretary of Energy to resume reviewing applications for approvals of liquefied natural gas export projects, which had been paused under former President Biden.

The same order additionally instructs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to provide guidance on implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and proposes rescinding CEQ’s NEPA regulations by February 19, 2025. Notably, the DC Circuit recently held that “CEQ had no lawful authority to [issue] these regulations,” and thus CEQ’s NEPA regulations were invalid. (Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration, No. 23-1067 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 12, 2024). President Trump’s Order instructs CEQ to convene a working group to coordinate revisions to NEPA regulations and permitting processes to prioritize efficiency and certainty.

Further, the President disbanded the Biden White House’s “Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases” (IWG) and withdrew all IWG guidance and memoranda, including its estimates of the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions. President Trump additionally instructed the EPA Administrator to issue guidance by March 21, 2025 addressing the social cost of greenhouse gases and to consider eliminating the social cost of carbon calculation from federal permitting and regulatory decision-making altogether.

Significantly, the order also directs the EPA Administrator, in collaboration with other agency leaders, to submit recommendations to the OMB on the legality and current applicability of EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases under the CAA – the predicate for EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

“Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential:” This EO opens Alaska for development of energy and natural resource projects, including prioritization of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The order rescinds all Biden-era policies that halted oil and gas leasing or canceled leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and instructs the heads of federal agencies to issue all permits necessary for exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in this area. To facilitate this effort, the order also reinstates environmental impact statements and the record of decision relating to Alaskan oil and gas from the previous Trump Administration and rescinds Bureau of Land Management guidance related to protection of subsistence resource values in special areas.

The EO additionally revokes prior policies regarding Alaska Native lands and directs the Department of the Interior to review guidance regarding the placement of Alaska Native lands into trust. The order denies the pending request to establish an indigenous sacred site in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and directs the Department of the Interior to consider the Alaskan cultural significance of hunting and fishing to effectuate the same hunting and fishing opportunities on federal lands that are available on state lands.

“Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements:” This EO requires the Unites States Ambassador to the United Nations to submit a formal written notification of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Although this EO declares that Paris Agreement withdrawal is effective immediately, a dispute looms over whether a nation may formally withdraw until one year after notification of withdrawal as required by the Agreement.

This EO also requires that the UN Ambassador immediately submit written formal notification of the United States’ withdrawal from any other similar commitment made under the UNFCC and that the UN Ambassador, along with the Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, immediately cease or revoke any financial commitments made by the United States under the UNFCC.

Additionally, this EO revokes and rescinds the United States International Climate Finance Plan and instructs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to, within ten days, issue guidance for the rescission of funds frozen under the climate finance plan. It also dictates that, within 30 days, a bevy of federal agencies (including EPA) submit a report detailing agency actions to revoke or rescind policies implemented to advance the United States International Climate Finance Plan.

“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing:” This EO terminates federal initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice (EJ). The order terminates all EJ offices, positions, and plans that were developed under the Biden Administration. This EO also mandates that all department heads provide the Director of OMB a list of agency EJ programs, services, and activities, and provide the same with a list of all federal grantees who have received federal funding to provide or advance EJ. This order aims to eliminate EJ considerations from EPA’s – and other agencies’ – policymaking and enforcement evaluations and decisions. States may seek to fill the EJ void with their existing and future-enacted EJ laws and policies.

Presidential memoranda

“Temporary Withdrawal of all Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects:” This directive withdraws all areas for wind energy leasing on the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS), thereby preventing consideration of any area in the OCS for new or renewed wind energy leasing. This memorandum does not affect leasing rights under existing leases in the withdrawn area and, with respect to such leases, the Secretary of the Interior along with the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice are to conduct a comprehensive review of all existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal basis for their revocation and submitting a report to the President detailing their findings.

This memorandum also prevents the Secretary of the Interior from issuing new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for all onshore or offshore wind projects (even projects beyond the OCS), pending the completion of a comprehensive assessment and review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. It further designates the Secretary of the Interior as the lead official to assess and review the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife and consider the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry.

Critically, this directive does not apply to oil, gas, and mineral leasing. And, of perhaps greater importance to the wind energy industry, this memorandum is unlikely to cause further delays to the multiyear approval process because it does not prevent federal agencies from continuing to conduct the extensive environmental reviews required for such projects.

“Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California:” In this directive, President Trump instructs the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior to work with their relevant subcabinet agencies – including, for example, the National Marine Fisheries Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation – to route water from California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the area citizens. This instruction revives litigation from the President’s first term, in which the State of California sued the administration over its plans to redirect this water, alleging it would negatively impact several fish species. In fact, this directive references this lawsuit specifically and suggests that the plans to redirect the water could treat the recent wildfires in Southern California. Ultimately, the President asserts that the “State of California needs a reliable water supply” and instructs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to report back on progress made and provide recommendations regarding policy implementation by April 20, 2025.

Looking ahead

President Trump’s first tranche of executive orders and directives sets the stage for numerous upcoming changes to environmental law and their impacts on diverse regulated stakeholders. The regulated community can likely expect additional EOs and other agency action over the first month of the President’s second term and beyond.

DLA Piper’s Environmental practice group is actively monitoring the new administration’s environmental policy initiatives and assisting clients with navigating the evolving regulatory landscape. If you have questions or would like assistance on the above topics, please contact the authors.