Environment · metrics
Environment: EPA says it will stop calculating health savings from key air pollution rules
What changed: EPA says it will stop calculating health care savings and lives saved for PM2.5 and ozone rules (per AP).
Why it matters: Cost-benefit framing influences how aggressive rules are — and what survives in court.
Why it matters: Cost-benefit framing influences how aggressive rules are — and what survives in court.
Timeline
2026-01-13
AP reports EPA will stop calculating health savings/lives saved for some rules and emphasize costs to business.
Ongoing
AP notes critics argue this could weaken protections; EPA says it lacks confidence in modeling to monetize benefits.
What the move is (and isn’t)
This does not automatically repeal standards. It changes the accounting framework used in rulemaking — which can influence what rules look like and how they’re defended.
Why receipts matter here
The important documents are the agency’s guidance, the regulatory impact analyses, and the final rule preambles. If the method changes, track the text: what assumptions were removed, and what replaced them.
What to watch
Which forthcoming rules cite the new approach, and how courts respond when plaintiffs argue the agency ignored health benefits or used arbitrary assumptions.