EPA adopts covert method to ignore health benefits of air-pollution cuts

Lee Zeldin’s EPA has introduced a new regulatory stance that treats the health gains from lowering fine particulate matter, ozone and other pollutants as immeasurable, discarding established scientific techniques for benefit valuation. The approach debuted in a January rule on gas-turbine emissions and has since been used to justify weakening vehicle standards, power-plant rules and emissions tests for heavy-duty trucks.

Although the agency continues to tally compliance costs for businesses, it now ignores any benefits, even for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Cost analyses sometimes rely on disputed industry claims, such as unverified savings for supermarkets tied to a refrigeration rule that opponents say would actually raise expenses. Critics argue the practice violates legal standards that require balancing both costs and benefits, and it could lead to more premature deaths and respiratory illnesses.