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Bush angers environmentalists with last-minute rule changes; Many of the ‘midnight regulations’ open wilderness for oil and gas drilling, and loosen environmental safeguards

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 21, 2008 at 6:17 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

As the hour grows late, President Bush, like many chief executives before him, seems to hear the call of the wild. Honoring a tradition that dates at least to the Reagan administration, Bush is pushing through a bundle of controversial last-minute changes in federal rules — many of them involving the environment, national parks and public lands in the West.

President Clinton used his final weeks and months in office to strengthen a host of environmental rules and lock up federal lands with wilderness and other protective designations. Bush is using the same window of opportunity to open wilderness for oil and gas drilling, and to loosen safeguards for air, water and wildlife.

In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

Researchers who track “midnight regulations” say Bush pushed 53 of them through the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the last three weeks, nearly double the pace of Clinton at this point in his final year.

Some of the most controversial rules deal with the environment — a legacy-cementing area where Bush diverges sharply from Clinton and from President-elect Barack Obama.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

November 21, 2008 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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