Invisible Air, Transparent Water : Congress gets the word that nation wants environment protected

House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s decision to withdraw a punitive bill on environmental regulations represents recognition--finally--by Republican leaders that Americans have little stomach for legislation designed to weaken protection of our environment. Congress would be wise now to concentrate its energies on proposals that would improve, not further erode, the quality of land, water and air.

The bill that Gingrich pulled was the latest GOP attempt to curtail rules that many Republicans in Congress considered burdensome to small businesses. The measure would have required government agencies to periodically review many of their own regulations involving environmental protection, workplace safety and public health. The cumulative effect would have been to undo many existing rules.

One provision of the withdrawn bill permitted small businesses to petition government agencies for calculations on the impact of new rules on their operations; another would have allowed Congress to reject new agency rules before they took effect.

Opponents contended the bill would have forced the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies to rewrite regulations without regard to health and environmental protections. Not only environmentalists but some businesses opposed this legislation, as well as previous versions, out of fear it would dismantle a quarter-century of legal progress on environmental protection.

Public opinion polls and key legislative defeats have led GOP leaders to acknowledge that Americans are uncomfortable with assaults on environmental protections disguised as efforts to “rightsize” government.

Is there room to improve existing laws and regulatory schemes? Absolutely. Congress might start by increasing the incentives for comprehensive habitat planning under the Endangered Species Act instead of trying to impose cost-benefit calculations on wildlife. It should update drinking water standards to recognize a broader range of risks to public health while acknowledging that the nation’s 60,000 utilities and water districts need more than a one-size-fits-all solution. Congress should evaluate alternatives to the present liability system for cleanup of Superfund sites. No less important, it should halt its determined effort to sell off or develop federal wilderness lands and instead ensure adequate funding for the EPA. This is America’s heritage that’s at stake.