Obama halts controversial EPA regulation

President Barack Obama today scrapped his administration’s controversial plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders. Local business leaders say this is a move in the right direction for economic development in the Capital Region. Obama overruled the Environmental Protection Agency—and the unanimous opinion of its independent panel of scientific advisers—and directed administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposed regulation to reduce concentrations of ground-level ozone, smog’s main ingredient. The decision rests in part on reducing regulatory burdens and uncertainty for businesses at a time of rampant uncertainty about an unsteady economy. “This announcement decreases the level of ambiguity related the regulatory environment and is a move in the right direction for economic development,” says Meg Mahoney, senior vice president of competitiveness for the Baton Rogue Area Chamber. Mahoney notes the move also comes after the EPA said the Capital Region was meeting federal ozone standards and “provides some strong momentum for the Baton Rouge area’s environmental competitiveness.” Obama had initially set out to correct a weaker standard set by President George W. Bush. Jackson said in July that the standard would not survive a legal challenge because it did not follow the recommendations of the agency’s scientific advisers. Major industry groups had lobbied hard for the White House to abandon the smog regulation, and applauded today’s decision.