Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) applauded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its recent relaxation of federal air quality regulations in Maricopa County.
The Context
In 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration imposed air quality standards in Arizona targeting PM 2.5 emissions, an air particle created by air pollution that harms health. State Republicans under Senate President Warren Petersen (R-14) fought the measure, calling it "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion."
As Arizona Republicans, including Rep. Biggs, noted, residents do not produce or control the air pollutants the previous administration targeted, and they do not account for most of Maricopa County's air pollution. Most comes from natural or international sources, which the EPA confirmed.
In March 2026, the Trump Administration announced it would reverse the standards, a move Rep. Biggs applauded in a statement.
A new rule is soon to be finalized, under which industries across Maricopa County would be permitted to use emission-reduction credits generated through voluntary reductions in nonroad engine emissions, enhancing flexibility to build and expand production while ensuring overall emissions do not increase.
What Biggs is Saying
"I applaud the Trump Administration and Administrator Zeldin for continuing to reverse destructive environmental policies that threaten economic growth and opportunity in Maricopa County," the Arizona congressman said in a press release, adding, "Arizona—and Maricopa County specifically—is home to extraordinary economic and technological development that is improving the lives of Arizonans and Americans across the country."
Biggs further emphasized that "for years, Washington bureaucrats have ignored the fact that much of the air pollution affecting Arizona originates outside our state and beyond our control, while imposing increasingly burdensome local regulations that do little to meaningfully improve air quality. That approach threatens jobs, investment, housing, and economic opportunity without addressing the underlying problem."
He concluded, "This announcement is welcome news for those of us who understand that protecting our environment and promoting economic growth are not mutually exclusive. We can pursue responsible environmental stewardship without crushing businesses and families in one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation."
