Trump Exempted Some of the Nation’s Biggest Polluters From Air Quality Rules. All It Took Was an Email.

Reporting Highlights

Taken for Granted: The Trump administration has granted more than 180 polluting facilities nationwide a two-year pause on compliance with Clean Air Act rules.

Deregulating by Email: The administration set up an email address through the Environmental Protection Agency where companies simply had to send an email to make their request.

Silenced Science: The EPA’s air quality experts played no meaningful role in determining whether a facility should be handed an exemption to the rules, according to the agency.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.