Scary Regulatory Maneuvers in Bush’s Last Days

In the waning days of the Bush administration, there’s a final rush to implement a slate of polluter-friendly rules, as The Washington Post reported on Halloween:

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.

Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.

For a refresher on the seven-and-a-half years of conservative approaches to just one regulatory sphere, the environment (to say nothing of pharmaceuticals and other consumer products), check out this timeline of the administration’s record. Boo.

Tags: EPA, regulation

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