Environmental Protection Agency

Building on one of its all-time success stories, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it plans to adopt a more stringent health standard for airborne lead to protect the nation's children. Under the long-awaited proposal, the amount of lead allowed in the air would be dramatically lower than the current limit, which was adopted 30 years ago. Nationally, airborne lead has dropped nearly 98% since the original standard prompted the phase-out of leaded gasoline.

Re "EPA may decide not to limit toxin," May 7 When the Environmental Protection Agency, charged with the job of protecting our environment for the benefit of the American people, stonewalls on regulating a known toxin in public drinking water, in my mind it is akin to our government saying it's OK to poison Americans. It's no surprise that Republican Sens. Christopher Bond of Missouri and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the latter a notorious denier of global-warming science, consider the need for Congress to force the EPA to act as "political interference."

Health and environmental organizations sued the Environmental Protection Agency, arguing that the Bush administration's new smog rules fail to protect public health and the environment. The lawsuit, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of several groups, maintains that the EPA ignored the recommendation of a key panel of scientists calling for more stringent standards. Eleven states, including California, filed a parallel suit to overturn the EPA's standards.

A coalition of environmental groups plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to overturn motor vehicle emissions limits for Southern California, charging that the targets fail to address hazardous pollution faced by 1.5 million people who live next to freeways. In a petition to be filed in the U.S.

General Motors Corp. and 21 other carmakers denied claims by California regulators that they could comply with the state's carbon-reduction rules this year and asked a judge Friday for an order blocking the requirements. GM and two industry groups representing U.S., Asian and European companies said in filings in federal court in Fresno that the state was attempting to enforce carbon-exhaust rules that were barred by the Environmental Protection Agency. Without an injunction, carmakers will have to spend billions of dollars over 18 months, according to the filing.

Escalating a fight with Democrats on Capitol Hill, the White House on Friday invoked executive privilege in refusing to turn over documents to a congressional committee investigating the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to deny California permission to implement its own vehicle emission standards.

Jason Burnett has made a lot of news lately, criticizing the Bush administration for rejecting California's request for a federal waiver that would have allowed the state to enforce greenhouse gas restrictions. Burnett, until recently the associate deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, testified last month before a congressional panel about the possible White House role in overruling the EPA staff's recommendation of the waiver.

The Environmental Protection Agency is obliged by the Clean Water Act to protect the nation's waterways, beaches and drinking water from pollution caused by real estate development and should set standards for limiting construction runoff by the end of next year, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The ruling from the U.S.

The Environmental Protection Agency is completing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other major polluters near national parks and wilderness areas, despite the fact that half of the EPA's 10 regional administrators have formally dissented from the decision and another four have criticized the move in writing.

Looking to bolster the fight against childhood lead poisoning, the Environmental Protection Agency last month approved a tough new rule aimed at clearing the nation's air of the toxic metal. But at the last minute, federal documents show, the Bush administration quietly weakened a key provision, exempting dozens of polluters from scrutiny. A new network of monitors that is to track lead emissions from factories has been scaled back.