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Friday, January 18, 2008

The Price of Regulatory Delay

The nonprofit group Environmental Defense has released a new analysis showing that a one-year delay in the implementation of a diesel emissions reduction rule could result in 1,400 premature deaths, 3,000 heart attacks, and 24,000 asthma attacks.

The regulatory process is often slowed to a halt under the weight of analytical burdens and political pressure from top agency officials or the White House. Environmental Defense's analysis proves regulatory delay is not just a government management issue — it's a public health issue.

According to Environmental Defense, the rule has been in development since at least 2004:

In 2004, EPA announced plans to put in place new standards for the nation's fleet of diesel locomotives and ships by mid-2006, but missed the deadline. In March 2007, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson issued draft federal standards that would reduce particulate pollution and smog-forming nitrogen oxides from each engine by 80 percent or greater when fully phased in.

The analysis uses EPA's own data to prove that implementing the rule in 2008 would yield substantially greater public health benefits than implementing the rule in 2009. (See Environmental Defense's PowerPoint slides for side-by-side comparisons.)

EPA plans to issue the final rule in March. However, the rule is currently being reviewed by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs which could water down the regulation or impose further delay if it so chooses.