What is the disagreement over EPA clean air regulations about?

[patrice]

Run time: 11:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ayPvZ95mGo   Posted on YouTube: September 07, 2011 By YouTube Member: democracynow Views on YouTube: 201   Posted on DU: September 08, 2011 By DU Member: patrice Views on DU: 467

 
Amy Goodman interviewed the two sides of the questions about EPA smog regulations:

John Walke, of the NRDC, said all of the things that you have been seeing everywhere about the President being pro-polluter and implied that he is unconcerned for people's health.

Dr. Roger McCllelan, past chair of EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory committee, 30 years of experience with the EPA clean air standard setting process, made the following significant criticisms of the EPA's current role in what happened to these regulations:

- Clean Air Act sets review of science & standards for every 5 years;
- Last such review was March 2008;
- Last review was based on Science done in 2005;
- EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee at that time, acting in it's scientific and policy advisory capacities, advised to make standard 70ppb;
- EPA director at that time subsequently lowered the standard from 84 ppb to 75 ppb;
- EPA's current chair, Jackson, decided to reclaim the previous Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's policy advice, 70 ppb;
- Jackson also set a review of the previous 2008 standard setting process in motion;
- That review of the previous review is occurring 3.5 years into the life of the 2008 standards, which were based on science that is now over 10 years old;
- Meanwhile the regular 5 year review process defined by the Clean Air Act is beginning and is expected to deliver newly proposed standards, based upon more current science, in 2012 which will be finalized in 2013.

No one in this interview said that decision to abate Jackson's decision was based on the standards affecting jobs. The only question related to that was implied by whether Jackson was increasing the regulatory burden on industries, in their efforts to comply, by retroactively reclaiming the previous standard, increasing EPA workload (and basically discarding previous work) by re-reviewing the 2008 standards AND initiating the new Clean Air Act standard setting process for 2013.