EPA: air pollution rule should be delayed - despite its effect on children
Source: The Guardian
EPA: air pollution rule should be delayed – despite its effect on children
Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges postponing Obama
administration measure might have ‘disproportionate’ effect on
young people
Oliver Milman
Wednesday 14 June 2017 17.07 BST
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed delaying a federal air pollution rule for two years, despite acknowledging that children will be disproportionately harmed by the decision.
The regulator plans to suspend standards aimed at preventing leaks from the oil and gas industry while it reconsiders the rule, which was introduced in June 2016 under Barack Obama’s administration.
In its announcement of the proposed stay, the EPA said it “believes that the environmental health or safety risk addressed by this action may have a disproportionate effect on children.”
The EPA said, however, that any harm to children would last only for a “limited” time. “Any impacts on children’s health caused by the delay in the rule will be limited, because the length of the proposed stay is limited. The agency therefore believes it is more appropriate to consider the impact on children’s health in the context of any substantive changes proposed as part of reconsideration.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/14/epa-pollution-rule-delay-children
