by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow
As appearing in the Daily Sentinel
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is, for most Americans, a week of vacation, travel, rest and time with family and friends. It is a time when the fewest people are focused on the daily news; in fact, many people purposely ignore the rest of world and concentrate on their own families, at least for a few days.
That is precisely why politicians can always be counted on to push their most controversial plans during just such a week, when fewer people will notice. So, what would the last week in December be without a rash of new regulations — which most people won’t hear about until next year?
The White House quietly published its “unified agenda” in early December, hinting at these new regulations. Those included nearly 50 new clean air rules alone. One will require factories and other plants to invest in “maximum achievable” control even after their emissions fall below required threshold levels.
The war on coal continues with a further reduction in already existing silica dust restrictions, and another constraint on clean coal-fired power plants, even those with modern technology that already emit almost nothing.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will add dozens more species to the endangered list, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and at least two new spotted owl “subspecies.” Another plan involves locking up over 200,000 acres in two states as critical snake habitat. Another agency will impose an 11 mile-per-hour speed limit to impede boating along the Atlantic Coast, to “save” the right whales (do they die if overhead boats go too fast?).
