EPA eases clean air regs on power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Friday eased clean air rules to allow utilities, refineries and manufacturers to avoid having to install expensive new anti-pollution equipment when they modernize their plants.
The long-awaited regulation issued by the Environmental Protection agency was immediately attacked by environmentalists, state air quality regulators and attorneys general in several Northeast states who promised a lawsuit to try to reverse the action.
The rule changes, which have been a top priority of the White House, are aimed at making it easier for utilities and refinery operators to change operations and expand production without installing new emission controls.
The new EPA regulation will allow industry to:
- * Set higher limits for the amount of pollution that can be released by calculating emissions on a plant-wide basis rather than for individual pieces of equipment.
* Rely on the highest historical pollution levels during the past decade when figuring whether a facility's overall pollution increase requires new controls.
* Exempt increased output of secondary contaminants that result from new pollution controls for other emissions.
"They're going to do everything they can not only to roll these rules back at the federal level but to force states to dismantle clean air programs that have been in place for years," she said.
Electric companies and their employees contributed at least $11 million to the GOP in the 2001-02 election cycle, more than twice as much as they gave Democrats...
Coal companies and their employees made at least $1.9 million in political contributions in that period, with more than $8 of every $10 going to Republicans.
Bush's 2000 presidential campaign was also a major beneficiary of the industries' largess. Several energy executives raised at least $100,000 each for Bush's campaign, and the energy industry, including electric and mining companies, gave more than $2.8 million.
Many of the fund-raisers and donors were members of Bush's transition team, weighing in on energy and environmental policy as the president set up his administration.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/11/22/clean.air.ap/index.html
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The Bush Administration waited until after the mid-term elections to enact these new measures. Critics allege that he did so now rather than earlier since doing so then would have probably not gone over very well with the electorate.
Nah... Bush ain't no moron. In his own way, he is one very clever fellow.
