Obama Delays New Environmental Regulations

Activists furious over economic move
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 10, 2010 9:00 AM CST
Obama Delays New Environmental Regulations
The EPA is putting off instituting new rules on smog and industrial boiler waste.   (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

The Obama administration is delaying the implementation of new regulations on smog and toxic industrial boiler emissions, leaving in place policies enacted by George W. Bush. The EPA says it will now need until July 2011 to consider the smog rules, so that it can analyze further scientific and health studies, and until April 2012 to review boiler emissions. The New York Times sees the move as an attempt to shift rightward after the Democrats’ midterm shellacking.

Environmental activists are outraged over the broken campaign promise. "Obama has already signaled that in his quest for re-election he’s more than willing to turn against his base," said the president of Clean Air Watch. But the move earned Obama rare praise from usual sparring partners like the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute. “Clearly, the agency has heard the calls from manufacturers,” said NAM’s energy president. (More Environmental Protection Agency stories.)

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