EPA Moves to Ease Pollution Rules
by Matthew Blake, The Center for Independent Media
A Final Attempt by Bush Administration to Weaken the Clean Air ActThe Environmental Protection Agency seems on the brink of issuing a new regulation that would make it easier for power plants to operate longer hours – and emit more pollution. Under the proposed rule, power plants would be able to measure their rate of emissions on an hourly basis instead of their annual total output.
As long as the hourly emissions stay at or below the plant's established maximum, the plant would be treated as if it were operating cleanly – even if its total annual emissions increased as plant managers stepped up output. The proposed power-plant rule marks a final attempt by the Bush administration to radically revise the way environmental laws are applied, especially the Clean Air Act.
Throughout his term, George W. Bush has sought to weaken the traditional regulatory authority of many federal agencies – like the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission – to make them more friendly to business. This anti-regulatory stand has had perhaps its most sweeping effect on the EPA.
Read more here.
The Center for Independent Media is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that operates an independent online news network in the public interest.
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