Environment

GOP statehouses move to curb agency power over air, water rules

Business and industry advocates support the legislation.
The US Lock & Dam on the Cape Fear River in Fayetteville, N.C., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republican-led states, concerned about the overregulation of businesses and manufacturers, want to make it harder for state agencies to implement air and water regulations stricter than federal standards. 

The legislation, promoted in states by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, requires state agencies to use the “best available science” to impose stricter regulations, including demonstrating that exposure to a substance, mixture or chemical is causally linked to bodily harm in humans. To demonstrate the connection, agencies would have to meet criteria that includes citing scientifically defensible, quality-assured supporting studies.

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