"We are sort of powerless," a Fort Berthold Indian Reservation resident said of Trump's rollbacks on pollution rules. "This is our reality now."

"Ethics matter. So does a commitment to the EPA's central mission. Pruitt failed miserably on both counts."

"Weakening clean car standards is bad for the planet, public health, and the auto industry itself."

"EPA's time is now up," said the environmental law firm Earthjustice, which sued the agency on behalf of labor and public health groups.

The move, said Administrator Michael Regan, "will ensure the agency receives the best possible scientific insight to support our work to protect human health and the environment."

More broadly, campaigners are calling on the incoming president to deliver on the environmental justice promises he made as a candidate.

"Safety requirements at these facilities should be stepped up, not rolled back. But this is what we've come to expect from the Trump EPA."

"Let's call this what it is: an excuse to abandon clean air, clean water, and chemical safety rules."

"This latest rollback would lead directly to more water contamination, more birth defects, more childhood cancer, and more pain and suffering for American families—all for the sake of a dirty industry's last grasp at profits."