Regressive Environmental Policy

EPA policy which demands that refineries, power plants, and factories, when they modernize install up to date emission controls. A priority of the Bush administration has been to change change these policies to allow these factories, refineries, and power plants to upgrade their facilities without having to comply with modern emission rules and requirements.

A federal appeals court this week issued a ruling stating that such a change in policy requires Congressional action and cannot simply be enacted by a change in agency policy.

The fear among those who favor protection of the environment is that an enormous loophole will simply be created allowing industry to circumvent EPA regulations and environmental protection laws. So long as expansion or development of new facilities can be piggy-backed on or masked as renovation of an older facility, those improvements need not meet modern environmental standards.

A Supreme Court that is growing more and more conservative may or may not hear this case on a subsequent (and what would be final) appeal. Traditionally, an agency's position receives considerable deference and their policy would be overturned only if found to be clearly contradictory to the legislature's intent in enacting the statute. It is uncertain how they might decide this case were they to elect to hear it.

The lawsuit was filed by New York, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.