por admin » Vie Sep 02, 2011 12:58 pm
POLITICSSEPTEMBER 2, 2011, 1:44 P.M. ET
Obama Asks EPA to Withdraw Proposed Ozone Rule
By DEBORAH SOLOMON, TENNILLE TRACY and JARED A. FAVOLE
President Barack Obama, citing the nation's struggling economy, asked the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw an air quality rule that Republicans and business groups have said could cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year and kill thousands of jobs.
The surprise move came as the economic recovery continued to show signs of stalling, with the labor market failing to add new jobs in August for the first time since September 2010.
In a statement, Mr. Obama said he supported efforts to promote clean air but added, "I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover."
The rule, which would have tightened standards for smog-forming ozone, has been under attack for months from industry groups and lawmakers. Republicans have cited the rule as a prime example of the overregulation they say is hampering the economic recovery.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) quickly claimed victory, saying the president's reversal "highlights the devastating impact on jobs that has been created by this administration's regulatory overreach."
Mr. Obama is set to address Congress and the nation Thursday on his jobs plan as the unemployment rate remains stuck above 9%. Mr. McConnell said withdrawing the rule "alone will prevent more job losses than any speech the president has given."
Environmental groups accused the president of giving in to corporate pressure.
"The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe," League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski said. "This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health."
The EPA, in proposing the tighter standard, estimated the rule would save 12,000 lives a year. Ozone has been linked to respiratory problems, such as asthma, and other illnesses, and the EPA said bringing the standard down would vastly improve public health.
Critics highlighted the cost to business. The Manufacturers Alliance, an industry group, estimated that the EPA rule, under its strictest interpretation, could cost the economy an average of $1 trillion a year in the decade from 2020 to 2030.
The White House offered much lower estimates but conceded the cost would be significant. Earlier this week, Mr. Obama, in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), said the proposal could cost the economy an estimated $19 billion to $90 billion a year. House Republicans had said they would hold a vote this winter on a bill to prevent its implementation.
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Earlier: Business Blasts Ozone Limits (07/21/2011)
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A passenger enters a Kansas City Metro bus that warns of an Ozone Alert in Kansas City, Missouri, last month.
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In pulling the plug, the White House appears to have judged that it had more to lose from industry and Republican criticism than it had to gain from environmental groups and others who support the rule. It had already become an issue in the 2012 presidential campaign, with Republican challengers citing the proposal in speeches and debates.
The EPA issued its proposal in January 2010, calling for ozone standards to be tightened to a range of 60 to 70 parts per billion, down from the standard of 75 set by the Bush administration in 2008 but not fully implemented. The new proposed standard would have put many states and counties out of compliance and required them to come up with detailed plans to curb emissions. That in turn could have made it harder for some new oil and gas projects to go forward.
Mr. Obama left open the possibility that the EPA proposal could be revived, saying the ozone standard would be reconsidered in 2013.
"Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered," his statement said.
White House officials said the president made the decision Thursday.
"This is not a product of industry pressure. This is a judgment on the merits," said one official. Another added: "This has nothing to do with politics, nothing at all."
The administration, anticipating the criticism from environmental groups, sought to outline the steps it has taken to improve air quality and said it was committed to its environmental agenda.
In the wake of Friday's decision, it isn't clear whether the EPA will implement the Bush administration standard of 75 parts per billion or continue for the time being with the 1997 standard of 84 parts per billion.
Mr. Obama's move amounts to a rebuke of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who came into office pledging to follow science in making decisions. Her decision to lower the threshold was based on the independent recommendation of an advisory board, whose advice had been rejected by the Bush administration in favor of a less stringent standard.
In a statement, Ms. Jackson said the agency would "revisit the ozone standard in compliance with the Clean Air Act" but pointedly stopped short of endorsing the president's decision.
The White House's decision to withdraw the standards "suggests to me that [the administration] is becoming more sensitive to the uncertainty created by their heavy regulatory hand," American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said in an interview. "They are beginning to understand that the regulatory burden does more to chill job creation than just about anything else out there."