Excessive Restrictions in EPA's Clean Air Program

Randy,

Glenn Hess has an article entitled, "EPA Clean Air Rules Challenged", in the October 24 issue of Chemical & Engineering News.

In general, House Republicans are criticizing the EPA for excessive regulations, which negatively affect jobs in these times of economic weakness. More specifically, the House passed a wide-ranging bill (HR 2401) that would halt the EPA efforts to sharply curtail emissions of mercury, soot and acid gases from coal and oil fired power plants and impose stricter limits on toxic air pollution that often drifts across state lines.

I agree with the general implication of the EPA that major air contamination from mercury, soot and acid gases should be eliminated. However, I have a difference of opinion, when we start to consider quantities and concentrations. The House may be on the right track with its HR 2401 in its objection to the proposed EPA regulation, based on the term "sharply curtail".

Congress passed the Clean Air Act 40 years ago. In those 40 years, the EPA has made strides with industry in controlling air pollution, to what I now consider is a low-level. I believe that the several scientists invited by the GOP majority to testify have put their finger on the problem. They say that the US is reaching a point of diminishing returns in setting standards for toxic air pollutants at lower and lower concentrations. Each reduction becomes more difficult and costly to achieve, while yielding minimal, if any, additional health benefits. In other words, the EPA doesn't know when to stop.

The EPA makes exaggerated claims of health benefits, such as "avoiding tens of thousands of premature deaths, preventing tens of thousands of heart attacks and thousands of hospital visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and alleviating hundreds of thousands of childhood asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses". Just as an example of the exaggeration, Michael Honeycutt, of the Texas, Commission on Environmental Quality, pointed out that the EPA's claims of mercury causing lower IQ and heart disease scare the public into avoiding seafood. But, the Japanese eat 10 times more fish than Americans do and have higher levels of mercury in their blood. They have a lower rate of coronary heart disease and high scores on IQ tests.

This again reverts to the problem I previously recognized, which is that the EPA is taking its marching orders from its socialistic/communistic boss Pres. Obama. Congress must in some way change the administration, so that a reasonably scientific EPA can perform its duties without political control of the EPA agenda.