Trump delays dozens of EPA regs

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will delay dozens of Obama-era regulations that were ensnared by President Trump’s regulatory moratorium.

The EPA said Wednesday it is freezing 30 regulations, most of which were published in the Federal Register after the 2016 election but have not yet taken effect. They will be delayed until March 21.

The renewable fuel standard published in December is the EPA’s highest-profile rule to fall victim to Trump’s regulatory moratorium. Emissions standards for wood manufacturers will also be delayed.

This will give Trump’s EPA pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, time to review the rules after he is confirmed by the Senate. At that point, many of the EPA’s more controversial rules could be entirely dismantled.

Per Trump’s regulatory moratorium, the Transportation Department also withdrew new regulations for hazardous materials that have not yet been published in the Federal Register. This is one of 18 rules scheduled to be withdrawn Thursday by federal agencies.

Here are a few other rules that will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register:

Finance: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is delaying automated trading regulations.

The CFTC proposed new rules for automated trading in December 2015, and updated its proposal last November, but is now extending the comment period to give the public more time to consider the changes.

This delay appears to be of the CFTC’s own making, and is not related to Trump’s regulatory moratorium.

The public has until May 1 to comment.

Endangered: The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is delaying new conservation regulations that would protect endangered species.

The conservation regulations address enhancement-of-survival permits. The rules were scheduled to go into effect on Thursday, but will be delayed until March 21 in response to Trump’s regulatory moratorium.

Investment: The Small Business Administration (SBA) is delaying new investments in small businesses.

The SBA issued a rule to “expand permitted investments in passive businesses” through the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program in December, but is now delaying the implementation to comply with the regulatory moratorium.

The rule will now go into effect on March 21.