Questions About the Army Corps and Cost-Benefit

As we just posted below, it appears from the PART assessments of the Army Corps of Engineers that USACE has been employing cost-benefit analysis in its internal decisions about projects and priorities. Has cost-benefit analysis -- a game rigged against the public interest -- distorted priorities in USACE and contributed to the failure to protect New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast areas affected by Hurricane Katrina? Here are some questions to ask USACE:
  • How were "benefits" measured?

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PART of the Problem in New Orleans

There are plenty of signs that the Bush administration failed to invest in projects that could have prevented the devastation in New Orleans — see this recap from the Center for American Progress for more. For another way in, be sure to look at the White House’s assessment of Army Corps of Engineers programs, using OMB’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART).

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OIRA Meetings on Brownfields, Oil Spills

EPA and OIRA met over standard practices for "all appropriate inquiries" with the National Association of Home Builders on Aug. 23. OIRA and EPA also met with energy companies and SBA representatives on Aug. 26 and 29 over a Spill, Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) proposed rule.

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Feds Plot Weak Pollution Rules for Old, Dirty Power Plants

From the Washington Post: The Bush administration has drafted regulations that would ease pollution controls on older, dirtier power plants and could allow those that modernize to emit more pollution, rather than less. The language could undercut dozens of pending state and federal lawsuits aimed at forcing coal-fired plants to cut back emissions of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, said lawyers who worked on the cases.

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Plan-B Decision Delayed by FDA

FDA officials announced that the agency will again delay its decision on the over-the-counter status of Plan B, or the "morning-after pill." The agency claims that it needs more time to evaluate how it will enforce an over-the-counter regulation. The agency also decided to arbitrarily raise the age limit for receiving Plan B without a prescription from 16 to 17. The agency was initially required to decide the Plan B OTC status in January, but the agency has delayed a decision ever since.

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OIRA meets on animal feed rule

OIRA met with animal feed associations and cattle associations from both the U.S. and Canada to discuss substances prohibited in animal feed. Loopholes in the mad cow disease regulations allow cow parts to be fed back to cows in animal feed products, thereby potentially spreading the disease among cows. This meeting is one of several recently held by OIRA on mad cow-related topics. The agency also recently met with industry over substances prohibited in human food products as well as on the prohibition of specified-risk materials.

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Paralysis by Analysis: Snowmobiles in Yellowstone

A New York Times op-ed examines the Bush administration's decision to authorize a fourth study of the environmental impact of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, despite the wealth of scientific information already available:

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OIRA meeting with Rendering, Feed Industry

OIRA met on Aug. 23 to discuss substances prohibited in human food with rendering industry representatives including the National Renderers Association, Valley Proteins, Kaluzny Bros. and Griffin Industries, Inc. Rendering is "the process of transforming waste from the meat industry into useable products for animal feeds and technical use," according to the NRA website. OIRA met over the same rule on Aug. 24 with the American Feed Industry Association.

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OIRA Meeting on EPA Rules

  • On Aug 2, OIRA, EPA and SBA met with the Natural Resources Defense Council over EPS's Pretreatment Streamlining Rule.
  • OIRA and EPA met with the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance (HSIA) on July 27 to discuss dry cleaners residual risk.

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OIRA Meeting on Mad Cow Disease

OIRA met with the North American National Casing Association on July 12 over the prohibition of specified-risk material for human food and the requirements for disposition of non-ambulatory cattle. Specified-risk material is the part of the cow most likely to transmit the mad cow disease prion. Currently regulation prohibits the use of specified-risk material in meat products. However, several loopholes to the regulation exist. Non-ambulatory cattle are essentially cattle that appear to be ill (i.e. they can't walk).

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