"With the Obama administration facing a deadline this week to suggest any changes to the national air quality standards for soot, the pressure is building on all sides."
"The American Petroleum Institute got an early start today and opposed any changes, insisting that stricter rules could harm the economy by making it harder to drill for oil and gas in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, large health groups that represent pediatricians, cardiologists and lung doctors are meeting with top administration officials tomorrow to make the case that soot from older diesel engines, power plants and other industrial sources is still killing tens of thousands of Americans every year.
Everything falls now to the White House, which is reviewing the proposal and may tread carefully in an election year in order to avoid the blistering attacks from industry. The administration backed away last summer from stricter standards for ozone, the main ingredient in smog, on concerns that more of the country could fall into 'nonattainment,' raising the bar for industrial operations that need air pollution permits."
Gabriel Nelson reports for Greenwire June 12, 2012.
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