Bush takes quiet aim at 'green' laws

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that "Bush administration officials have drafted a rule that would significantly narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act, stripping many wetlands and streams of federal pollution controls and making them available to being filled for commercial development.

"If implemented, the change would represent one of the most consequential of the actions the Bush administration has taken to ease environmental regulations," the newspaper reported.

In southern Oregon, the US Forest Service wants to salvage up to 1 billion board-feet of lumber from last year's 499,965-acre "Biscuit Fire," including logging in 12,000 acres of roadless areas.

What particularly gripes local environmentalists is that the usual period for public comment on the plan (90 days) has been cut in half.

Appropriations bills are a key vehicle in the effort. This week, Congress sent to the president a $20-billion Interior Department spending bill that includes administration-supported amendments effecting environmental policy. For example, the bill would expedite logging of national forests in Alaska and Montana. Next week, the Senate takes up the appropriations bill that includes funds for the EPA; that, too, can be expected to include amendments involving environmental regulation, including one that deals with small engine emissions.

There's a risky dimension to shifting federal environmental policy - even in the name of "balance" - that leaves the administration open to criticism. In a memo to Republican leaders earlier this year, GOP pollster Frank Luntz warned that "the environment is probably the single issue on which Republicans in general - and President Bush in particular - are most vulnerable."

One indicator: Last week, 13 states and 20 cities sued the Bush administration for its plan to adjust Clean Air Act regulations in a way critics say will increase the emission of harmful pollutants. EPA officials this week acknowledged that investigations of several dozen power plants thought to be in violation of the Clean Air Act will be dropped, confirming suspicions for critics of the administration plan allowing power plants to upgrade without reducing emissions.

While Democrats are more likely to be considered "green" than Republicans, much of the support for increased environmental protection is bipartisan.

Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona was the lead sponsor of legislation to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gases, which won a respectable 43 votes in the Senate last week. Eight Republican Senators joined Democrats in blocking new oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) named the leader of a conservation group to head the California Environmental Protection Agency. He also promises to retrofit his Hummer to run on clean-burning hydrogen.

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