EPA has significantly weakened a rule to address wastewater from facilities that manufacture, rebuild or maintain metal parts, products, or machines, covering only 2,400 facilities rather than the 89,000 covered by the original Clinton-era proposal.

The rule, signed by EPA Administrator Christie Whitman on February 14, lays out narrow standards that apply only to facilities that generate oily wastewater, one of eight industry subcategories included in the original proposal.