Opinion - 100 days in, Trump's EPA is powering the great American comeback
Not only is the EPA Powering the Great American Comeback, by unleashing American energy, lowering costs for hardworking Americans, bringing back American auto jobs, advancing cooperative federalism, and making the United States the AI capital of the world, the Trump EPA is doing what many thought impossible: ensuring America has the cleanest air, land and water on the planet while also supporting economic growth.
Many on the left have propelled their radical agenda using extreme climate alarmism to justify policy actions that favored and subsidized preferred individuals and entities while impeding others and driving costs up for Americans.
Under Trump, EPA is rejecting the false choice between environmental stewardship and economic prosperity. These goals reinforce each other when approached with commonsense policies rather than ideological agendas.
One of the core elements of EPA's mission is protecting air quality. Since Jan. 20, EPA has approved 25 State Implementation Plans — 16 of which were backlogged from the previous administration — ensuring environmental requirements take effect faster.
At our southern border, EPA addressed air quality challenges by providing funding for air filters and hydrogen sulfide monitoring to address sulfur odors from the Tijuana River.
In our skies, when unregulated geoengineering startup Make Sunsets began launching toxic sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere for 'cooling credits,' EPA demanded immediate answers to protect U.S. air.
The agency has bolstered its commitment to ensuring clean land across the nation. In 100 days, EPA has fully cleared, or cleared portions of, four Superfund sites. In addition, it has supported redevelopment at 21 Superfund sites across 13 states. Through the Brownfields program, the agency boosted property values and created new economic opportunities with 27 sites now ready for anticipated use.
At the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in St. Louis, Mo., residents have long endured radioactive waste in their community. After visiting the site with Sen. Josh Hawley and hearing from community members, the importance of an expedited cleanup was clear. I tasked our experts to find a way to do so, and was able to announce that EPA reduced the cleanup timeline for West Lake Landfill and impacted sites by two years.
Los Angeles experienced catastrophic wildfires earlier this year. At Trump's direction, EPA completed its largest wildfire response in agency history, clearing more than 13,000 properties of hazardous materials in just 28 days.
Water is an extremely valuable resource, and its preservation is critical for human health and our economy. EPA updated water quality standards for 38 miles of the Delaware River to protect critical fish species, approved a comprehensive plan to further restore and protect the Long Island Sound over the next decade, and developed a cutting-edge method to detect 40 different PFAS compounds in surface water, groundwater and wastewater — a critical tool in addressing these emerging contaminants.
In addition, I recently traveled to our southern border to announce immediate actions to end decades of raw sewage flowing into our country from Tijuana, Mexico.
EPA's expedited review processes for new chemicals and pesticides is supporting American agriculture and industry while ensuring products are safe for human health and the environment. And the agency's enforcement actions have reduced pollution by 15 million pounds while securing $296 million for cleanups to address over 700,000 cubic yards of contamination.
EPA is proving environmental protection can drive economic growth. Our rapid approval of backlogged permits is giving businesses the certainty they need while ensuring proper environmental safeguards. Superfund cleanups are returning valuable land to productive use, creating jobs and revitalizing communities that have been left behind.
This paradigm represents the cornerstone of EPA's environmental policy in the Trump administration: protection that empowers rather than restricts, regulation that clarifies rather than complicates, and an approach that recognizes the environment and economy as partners rather than adversaries.
In just 100 days, Trump's EPA has demonstrated what's possible when environmental policy focuses on results rather than rhetoric. It remains committed to ensuring every American has access to clean air, clean water and clean land while powering the Great American Comeback — and we're just getting started.
Lee Zeldin is the 17th administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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