1980 Plymouth Arrow 2.6

Going over the truck and getting familiar with everything and I noticed the EGR is constantly pumping. I'm familiar with how an EGR "normally" operates but in my mind this one is basically functioning as a constant, giant exhaust leak and doesn't seem right, but I have no experience with this motor.

The truck is kept in a non-smog area....How do these older carb'd motors respond to simply removing it and plugging the hole? The same question applies to any other equipment that can be removed/modified when smog is not an issue.

I'm not expecting performance gains but I would like a simple engine bay and I would rather remove a system like the EGR, than pay to fix it if there isn't a performance/reliability downside.

Any ideas?