"EPA Proposes Withdrawal of Bush-Era Air Toxics Assessment"

"U.S. EPA has proposed withdrawing part of a George W. Bush-era air toxics regulation, saying the rule may not accurately characterize the risk posed by petroleum refinery emissions.

The Obama administration last week proposed (pdf) to withdraw the "residual risk" and technology review portions of the agency's Jan. 16 amendment to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants from refineries.

Former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson signed a final rule (pdf) for the petroleum refining sector just days before the Bush administration left office. The rule -- issued under a court-ordered deadline -- would have retained the 1995 air toxics standards for refineries, requiring no additional controls or toxic-pollution reduction measures. Environmentalists argued that the risk assessment was based on estimates that drastically underestimated refineries' toxic emissions."

Robin Bravender reports for Greenwire in the New York Times October 21, 2009.

See Also:

"EPA To Revisit Tighter Refinery Emissions Rules" (Houston Chronicle)