President Obama asked the Environmental Protection Agency to cease consideration of new laws for smog standards. In a statement, Obama announced that he had asked the EPA’s administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the draft of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Citing the state of the economy, the President stressed “the importance of reducing regulatory burdens”. The EPA celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Clean Air Act last year, which requires the agency to develop and enforce regulations protecting the public health. Despite clear evidence from scientists on the health affects of ground level ozone pollution, the revision of the standards has been delayed to 2013. The EPA has already delayed updating these standards four times over the past two years.
For more on this story, KBOO’s Zeke Harrington talked with Aaron Hurtis from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
- KBOO