"As U.S. President Donald Trump takes aim at what he considers an excess of federal regulations, a new lawsuit accuses the Environmental Protection Agency of illegally rescinding a rule to reduce the discharge of mercury from dental offices, mere hours after Trump took office.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday, the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council said the final rule was withdrawn on Jan. 20, the date of Trump's inauguration, after White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus directed federal agencies to "immediately withdraw" final rules slated for publication.

But the NRDC said the mercury rule could not be withdrawn before its expected Jan. 24 publication in the Federal Register because it was subject to a Clean Water Act provision that, given the wording of Priebus' memorandum, forbade withdrawal."

Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters February 1, 2017. [2]