Press EPA to withdraw its proposed rule allowing major polluting facilities to begin construction without Clean Air Act permits and preserve preconstruction permitting safeguards.

Edward J. Markey · Massachusetts · Democratic

oversight impact 0.72 specificity 0.86 extraction confidence 91%

Occurrences

We urge you to withdraw this proposed rule and preserve the Clean Air Act's preconstruction permitting safeguards.

Markey led a letter urging EPA to withdraw a proposed rule that would let facilities such as data centers and fossil fuel plants begin construction without required Clean Air Act permits.

Sen. Markey, Rep. McClellan Lead Colleagues in Condemning EPA’s Attempt to Let Data Centers, Fossil Fuel Plants, and Other Major Facilities Evade Core Clean Air Act Protections
primary · press_release · model gpt-5.5

Evidence

EPA's current NSR regulatory-actions page lists the Begin Actual Construction item as a proposed rule and says it would let certain physical on-site construction occur before an NSR permit is obtained.

Within the lookback window, EPA's official page still showed the relevant action as a pending proposal, not withdrawn or finalized. No official Markey action pressing withdrawal was identified in the searched records.

unresolved same_term

NSR Regulatory Actions | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 85%

EPA proposed NSR revisions that would clarify that non-emitting components or structures can be built before obtaining an NSR air permit for a new major source or major modification; comments were due June 29, 2026.

The official proposed rule matches the commitment's subject: preconstruction permitting safeguards for major stationary sources. As of the June 29 comment deadline, the rule was still in the rulemaking process, so the withdrawal objective was not shown as delivered.

unresolved same_term

Federal Register: Begin Actual Construction in the New Source Review (NSR) Preconstruction Permitting Program
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 88%

EPA states that a virtual public hearing was held on May 28, 2026, for Begin Actual Construction in the NSR Preconstruction Permitting Program.

The hearing confirms the rule remained active as a proposal shortly before the lookback window; this is consistent with an unresolved status rather than withdrawal or reversal.

unresolved same_term

NSR Regulatory Actions | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 80%

Assessments

unresolved same_term

The relevant EPA NSR proposal remained pending during Markey's current Senate term, with comments recently due and no evidence that EPA withdrew the rule or that preconstruction permitting safeguards were preserved through the promised outcome. The available record also does not identify a concrete Markey action pressing EPA to withdraw it. Because the rulemaking was still active rather than finally adopted or abandoned, the promise is best treated as unresolved, not delivered or definitively failed.

provider codex_cli · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 86%