EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says the agency will finish its federal review clearing New Hampshire's vehicle inspection repeal before the end of the year, telling the NHJournal podcast Tuesday that the timetable remains intact.

The agency must still act on two proposals issued in August: removing New Hampshire from the Ozone Transport Region and conditionally approving removal of the inspection program from the state's air quality plan. The public comment period closed days ago. EPA is now reviewing 400 comments submitted during that process.

"State legislators and the governor have worked together to try to remove that," Zeldin said. "In order for EPA to approve it, we had to first propose it. We had a public comment period that followed. The comment period just ended a few days ago."

He reiterated the commitment he made when the request arrived. "As I pledged from the onset that we were going to expedite this request from New Hampshire, that we were going to finish our work before the end of the year. That is something that is still on track."

The federal step is required because the state-level repeal did not erase New Hampshire's obligations under the Clean Air Act. Governor Kelly Ayotte signed the repeal into law in June 2025, but the state remained tied to the Ozone Transport Region, which triggered emissions testing requirements. EPA's proposals, if finalized, would sever both constraints.

Zeldin framed the action as removing administrative burden rather than weakening air quality protections.

"It's not a decision to reduce air quality. It's a decision to reduce mandatory burdens that the federal government was placing on the state," he said. "My philosophy is that the people of New Hampshire know their air better than any bureaucrat in Washington, D.C."

The path to finalization is not uncontested. Gordon-Darby Holdings, the vendor that operates the inspection program, and New Hampshire resident Marilyn C. Jonas filed objections Friday to EPA's actions. The dispute has already produced federal litigation, and the objections extend the administrative record the agency must resolve before issuing final decisions.

Zeldin did not announce a final decision in the interview. He confirmed the inspection issue will be on the agenda at his first meeting in Manchester, the first stop of a multi-state tour that continues to Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Arizona and New Mexico. He also plans to visit a stormwater cleanup site in the city.

The New Hampshire action sits alongside a broader deregulatory push. EPA just announced a rollback of Biden-era power plant carbon rules that would have forced some coal plants to shut down and blocked new natural gas generation. Zeldin called it "the largest power sector deregulatory action in the history of the United States of America" and projected $310 billion in savings for energy producers and consumers.

For New England, he argued, the question extends beyond coal to natural gas and the pipeline infrastructure needed to deliver it. "It is important to have reliable, durable, affordable baseload power," he said.

Environmental groups oppose the power sector rollback, arguing it will increase greenhouse gas emissions and worsen health and environmental outcomes from continued fossil fuel reliance. They have pledged legal challenges. Zeldin drew a line between climate-driven greenhouse gas rules and the agency's remaining statutory duties.

"We're continuing to regulate hazardous air pollutants, criteria pollutants. That is our obligation under the Clean Air Act," he said.

The decision point for the inspection program is now procedural: EPA must resolve the 400 comments and the Gordon-Darby and Jonas objections, then convert its August proposals into final action. Zeldin's year-end deadline is the milestone that determines whether New Hampshire's repeal takes full effect in 2026 or stalls in federal review.