Subject: E.P.A. Institutes Water Regulations Before a Bill Blocking Them Becomes Law; New York Times 7/12 July 12, 2000 E.P.A. Institutes Water Regulations Before a Bill Blocking Them Becomes Law By MATTHEW L. WALD with STEVE GREENHOUSE WASHINGTON, July 11 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued new water pollution rules today, trying to outmaneuver members of Congress who thought they had killed the measure two weeks ago. And while it drew criticism from representatives for the tactic, the agency also came under attack by a public advocacy group, which said it had delayed publicizing reports on the workplace dangers of a toxic chemical featured in the film Erin Brockovich. Opponents of the new antipollution rules, which would set pollution limits based on local water conditions, attached an amendment blocking them to an unrelated military construction bill. But the E.P.A. said today that it would make the rules official by publishing them in the Federal Register on Thursday morning -- a few hours ahead of when President Clinton is scheduled to sign the military construction bill into law. The agency's move thus effectively sidesteps the efforts to kill the new water regulations. Today Mr. Clinton, in a statement, called the rules "a critical, common-sense step." But the maneuvering did not play well with lawmakers who thought they had won the previous round. "E.P.A.'s arrogance under this administration has risen to new heights," said Representative Bud Shuster, the Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The E.P.A. designated the new regulations as a "major rule," which makes them subject to recall by Congress for 60 days. But Carol Browner, the agency's administrator, predicted that Congress would not vote to stop the rules if it involved "a full review, and a public review." Some opponents of the rules conceded that she was probably right. A two-thirds majority would be needed to block the regulations. At issue was a new approach to water pollution, called Total Maximum Daily Load, which, like the current law, seeks to make each body of water "fishable and swimmable." Rather than national allowable levels of emissions, under the new program states would set levels of emissions for local areas. The rule will require "comprehensive planning on a river-by-river, lake-by-lake and bay-by-bay basis by local and state governments, working in partnership with the E.P.A.," Ms. Browner said. It will also add "non-point sources" of pollution, including sites like farmers' fields, or woods where trees are harvested, to "point" sources like factories and sewage treatment plants. E.P.A. lawyers determined that while the agency could get the rules on the books before the military construction bill became law, it would have to abide by another part of Congress's provision: one that delays the effective date of the new rules until October 2001. The agency also made some changes to the regulations -- based in part, Ms. Browner said, on complaints from members of Congress -- giving the states more flexiblity in how to enforce them. While the maneuvering was going on, a public advocacy group started by Ralph Nader, the Green Party presidential candidate, accused the administration of dragging its feet in releasing a report and issuing new rules on the workplace dangers of the chemical, hexavalent chromium. Scientists for the group, Public Citizen, asserted that the E.P.A. had for five years delayed publicizing reports that the chemical was far more dangerous than previously thought. The study, done in conjunction with scientists at Johns Hopkins University, found that lung cancer death rates among people working with the chemical were almost double what earlier studies had found. Public Citizen also faulted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accusing it of delays in issuing tougher rules to protect workers from the compound. Industrial experts estimate that from 200,000 to 400,000 workers have been exposed to the chemical, which is used in pigments, chrome-plating and in making metal alloys. Peter Lurie, deputy director of Public Citizens' Health Research Group, said the delays in regulating the compound reflected what he called the administration's systematic underenforcement in occupational safety. He insisted that Public Citizen's attacks were not intended to advance Mr. Nader's candidacy. The study included 2,357 men who worked at a chromate production plant in Baltimore from 1945 to 1975, following them through 1992. The report found that lung cancer deaths for the workers occurred at 1.8 times the rate that would have been expected with similar Maryland residents. E.P.A. and Johns Hopkins researchers first presented the results in 1995. But Public Citizen scientists, who obtained the study through the Freedom of Information Act, faulted the agency for waiting five years before publishing the findings. In 1994, the agency said it would propose an exposure rule on hexavalent chromium by March 1995. Public Citizen officials complained today that no rule has yet been proposed, though OSHA officials said they planned to issue a rule by June 2001. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]