Again Bush disregards the facts…to manufacture a lie.

[The Whiskey Priest]

EPA officials have gone public with statements that the Bush administration swept the facts aside in order to placate and payoff campaign supporters.

WASHINGTON — Political appointees in the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) bypassed agency professional staff and a federal advisory panel last year to craft a rule on mercury emissions preferred by the industry and the White House, several longtime EPA officials say

The EPA staffers say they were told not to undertake the normal scientific and economic studies called for under a standing executive order. At the same time, the proposal to regulate mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants was written using key language provided by utility lobbyists.

The Bush administration has said that the proposed rule would cut mercury emissions by 70% in the next 15 years, and is tied to the president's "Clear Skies" initiative. Critics say it would delay reductions in mercury levels for decades at a risk to public health, while saving the power and coal industries billions of dollars.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=1&u=/latimests/20040316/ts_latimes/mercuryemissionsrulegearedtobenefitindustrystafferssay