"U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was planning to set a stricter nationwide limit on ground-level ozone when the White House axed the plan last month, the 468-page rulemaking package prepared by the agency yesterday shows."
"The draft rule shows that Jackson wanted to set the national air quality standard for ozone, the main ingredient in smog, at 70 parts per billion, as she told a House subcommittee last month.
Jackson had proposed a standard within the 60 to 70 ppb range early last year, tougher than 75 ppb standard chosen in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration and in line with the recommendation of EPA's science advisers. But in a rare rebuke to one of his agencies, President Obama told EPA to wait until the next review wraps up in 2013.
In its statements on the decision, the White House suggested that concerns about the economy were at the forefront, but EPA argues in its rule that the United States can clean up smog without draining its pocketbook."
Gabriel Nelson reports for Greenwire October 4, 2011.
SEE ALSO:
Draft NAAQS for Ozone (EPA)
Regulatory Impact Analysis of NAAQS (EPA)
Advertisement 
