Scott Pruitt's resignation overshadowed the EPA's big Clean Power Plan replacement

(Image credit: KERRY SHERIDAN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 6 July 2018

Scott Pruitt may have resigned as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, but his agenda hasn't left the building.

Just hours before President Trump announced Pruitt's resignation on Thursday, the EPA finished drafting its replacement for former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan. The new plan swaps Obama's proposed overhaul of the energy system for much less ambitious emission-cutting goals, The New York Times reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Industry officials tell the Times that completely repealing emissions regulations probably wouldn't have lasted in court, so the new plan still addresses greenhouse gases to some extent. But its goals are a lot more modest than Obama's major plan, only prompting coal plants to improve efficiency in order to cut some emissions. What impact these new rules have on the coal industry will likely be minor.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox