"Oil Industry Pressures White House With New Smog Study"

"The cost of cleaning up smog across the country would outstrip any benefits for public health, the American Petroleum Institute says in a new report that is being taken to the White House to bolster the trade group's argument that President Obama should stop U.S. EPA from setting stricter limits on ground-level ozone.

With a final decision now under review by the Office of Management and Budget, business groups are stepping up their attacks on the update to the ozone standard, which decides what counts as clean air from coast to coast.

The American Petroleum Institute, which is the largest trade group for the oil and gas industry, says in its new report that EPA has tweaked its economic analysis to exaggerate the health benefits that would result from stricter rules that were proposed last year."

Gabriel Nelson reports for Greenwire July 28, 2011.