'It makes no sense. It is impossible to implement. It reflects a complete lack of understanding of how government works.'
Environmental lawyers say two new White House directives—designed to greatly expand executive power to strike down federal energy and environmental regulations—are not likely to hold up in court and represent an attempt to move far beyond the established boundaries of presidential authority. "I do not think this even comes close to passing the test for legality," said Andres Restrepo, a senior attorney in the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program, of the April 9 executive order, "Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy." This executive order directs the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and other key federal agencies to "incorporate a sunset provision into their regulations governing energy production." Once inserted, the provision would repeal that regulation within one year unless an extension is granted. Among those targeted are rules authorized under the Endangered Species Act. In a press release, the Center for American Progress, a public policy group, warned that enacting this order would "create chaos, uncertainty, and a nightmare of administrative procedures to justify almost every individual regulation relating to energy and environment." Subscribe to the Compass newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you daily Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters "To just arbitrarily have a cutoff date for all regulations issued, regardless of what the statute says, and regardless of whether there's an evidentiary basis for it—that is simply unlawful," Restrepo said. "This is really just not how our laws work." Restrepo said the order may be inspired by an Idaho law that includes a "sunsetting" provision stating that regulations expire automatically after one year unless they are extended by the state legislature. But the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies write and enforce regulations, contains no such language. Federal agencies create regulations based on laws passed…