This Week in the Congress

Sen. Inhofe Calls on EPA To Drop Proposed Ozone Rule

Senator James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Friday asked the Environmental Protection Agency to drop its plans for a new Clean Air Act ozone rule.  Inhofe also sent a letter to the EPA’s Inspector General requesting him to investigate whether the EPA’s Clean Air Science Advisory Committee is improperly constituted and has acted improperly.

EPA is basing its new, tougher National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone partly on advice from its advisory committee.  Inhofe said in his letter that investigations by his committee staff have revealed that the EPA violated its own rules in selecting members for its advisory committee in four ways: lack of required impartiality; failure to balance perspectives; failure to rotate members; and financial conflicts of interest.