Citizen Health & Safety

Tighter Vehicle Fuel Economy Rules Announced

Apr 23, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, the Department of Transportation proposed new standards to improve vehicle fuel efficiency under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. In December, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act which requires the revisions to the CAFE standards.

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Polar Bear Decision Continues to Be Pushed Back

Apr 22, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is once again changing its tune on when it will announce plans to protect the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. The agency has said it needs 10 more weeks to make the decision, according to the Associated Press. The legal deadline for making the decision was Jan. 9. At that time, FWS, which is an agency within the Department of the Interior, said it would make its decision in early February. The latest announcement of delay indicates the decision may be pushed into early July at the earliest.

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In Response to Bisphenol-A Studies, Retailers Will Remove Products

Apr 21, 2008 by Matthew Madia

As Reg•Watch blogged last week, federal researchers have released a draft report which calls into question the safety of Bisphenol-A, a common chemical substance found in certain hard plastics and the linings of food cans.

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EPA Submits Plan for Re-Opening Libraries

Responding to congressional demands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is re-opening libraries that the agency closed over the past several years. However, it appears that the content of the libraries will be more limited, and the facilities will be subject to stricter central supervision, raising concerns from critics about the role politics will play.

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Reports Highlight MSHA's Failures at Crandall Canyon Mine

Two recent reports highlight the failures of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in approving the retreat mining plans at Crandall Canyon mine in Utah that resulted in nine deaths after a mine collapse in August 2007. A third report criticizes MSHA's approval and implementation of emergency response plans required by legislation passed by Congress in the wake of mining disasters across the country in 2006.

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White House Gains Influence in Toxic Chemical Assessments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced changes to its process for assessing the human health effects of common chemical substances. The revised process will allow the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to play a larger role in the evaluation of the substances.

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Bush's Attempts to Undermine Tort Claims Criticized

Apr 14, 2008 by Matthew Madia

An editorial in today's New York Times condemns a policy, known as preemption, which prohibits consumers from suing manufacturers if a product harms a consumer, so long as that product is in some way regulated by the federal government. The editorial calls preemption a "perverse legal doctrine" and warns that as it "continues to spread, the public will be deprived of a vital tool for policing companies and unearthing documents that reveal their machinations."

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Industry Cooperation Not Enough to Ensure Air Safety

Apr 10, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Today, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing investigating recent regulatory lapses at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Christopher Conkey of The Wall Street Journal reports on the damning testimony of the Department of Transportation's inspector general:

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EPA: They Get You Coming and They Get You Going

Apr 9, 2008 by Matthew Madia

When EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and the White House get together to talk about environmental regulations, it seems they often decide to blatantly ignore federal law. Recently, EPA has refused to let California regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and set a new standard for ozone that dismisses the advice of the agency's scientific advisors. Both decisions ignore plain language provisions in the Clean Air Act, and both were made under pressure from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

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Bush's "Allergy to Government Intervention"

Apr 9, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Ruth Marcus has written a great op-ed in today's Washington Post. Marcus discusses recently-discovered lapses in the FAA's aircraft inspection program and connects it to the broader pattern of anti-regulatory policies in the Bush administration:

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