The Bush administration recently approved a major rollback of the nation’s clean air standards that will allow increased pollution from the oldest and dirtiest power plants. Under the rule changes, these plants can upgrade their facilities without having to install the latest anti-pollution controls (as they were previously required to do under EPA's New Source Review program) even if it results in new emissions. Anti-pollution controls must be added only if upgrades exceed 20 percent of the value of all equipment used to produce electricity, an extremely high threshold.

The Forest Service recently issued standards allowing timber projects to eschew environmental assessments and impact statements -- normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) -- provided that the affected area poses a risk of wildfire or contains insect-infested or diseased trees. The measures outline three categorical NEPA exemptions that would allow the harvesting of up to 70 acres of live trees (up from 50 in the proposal), the removal of up to 250 acres of dead or dying trees, and the removal of up to 250 acres of insect-infested or diseased areas.

The House Government Reform committee recently held a hearing on a bill (H.R. 2432), sponsored by Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA), that would test regulatory budgeting at five agencies, including EPA and the departments of Labor and Transportation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced its intent to relax restrictions on food manufacturers for making claims about the health benefits of products. FDA will allow companies to petition the agency for review of claims about the healthfulness of their products based on preliminary scientific information—a departure from its current practice of approving only those claims supported by conclusive scientific evidence.