Another Pro-Polluter Regulation Tossed

Another Bush administration change in E.P.A. regulations — also reflective of the legendary Republican commitment to “federalism” — has been rejected by the courts as inconsistent with the Clean Air Act, almost as if that act was intended to require the executive to reduce pollution rather than to empower the executive to obstruct state efforts to reduce pollution:

A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting the ability of states to require monitoring of industrial emissions.

The 2-to-1 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is the most recent in a series of judicial setbacks to the Bush administration’s efforts to reshape federal policies under the Clean Air Act.

Under 1990 amendments to the original Clean Air Act, states were allowed to issue permits limiting pollution emissions from industrial facilities, like refineries or utilities. To ensure compliance, Congress required states to set more stringent monitoring requirements if they deemed federal requirements inadequate.

The E.P.A. gave states this leeway until 2006, when it reversed course and prohibited the states from requiring new monitoring. Environmental groups challenged the agency, saying that the new rule kept public agencies from gathering and making available the best data about industrial contributions to air pollution.

In case you’re curious, the Trotskyite judicial activists in the majority were Bush II and Reagan appointees.