EPA official...spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation

[DemoVet]

Yet another example of how we're being turned into a banana republic:

The proposed rule, whose wording was disclosed yesterday by the advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), would change the emissions standards for oil refineries, hazardous waste incinerators, chemical plants, steel mills and other plants that discharge thousands of pounds of airborne toxins such as arsenic, mercury and lead.

An internal EPA memo summarizing the position of eight of the agency's 10 regional offices, dated Dec. 13, contended the change could conceivably result in an increase in toxic emissions. Seven of the offices agreed that the proposal would allow polluters to "virtually avoid regulation and greatly complicate any enforcement."

One EPA official familiar with the proposal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the rule went further than many staff members thought was necessary.

So now officials of the agency tasked with protecting all of us (Democrat, republican, independent) are having their authority to do so stripped from them and are afraid of retaliation if they point this out? I seem to remember hearing that people are leaving agencies like the EPA because of things like this new rule. And when the honest, dedicated folks leave, who's going to replace them? Hacks who hew to the party line and give the polluters a pass, and the industry donations to the republican party will just keep rolling in. No connection to any present and future gutting of the rules that protect all of us, none at all. Oh, and the hacks will have civil service protection, good luck rooting them out later.

This is the vision that the republicans have for American government: the world's largest banana republic.

[nicknameless]

1. Your headline? Um ... "spoke"?

[Canuckistanian]

2. America really is becoming the laughing stock of the world

And as an outsider, I can tell you that's true.

I sure hope all that money was worth it.

[paul_fromatlanta]

3. I do understand the EPA's intent

Essentially the EPA uses greatly increased paperwork with associated costs as a stick to pressure polluters and are looking for a carrot to reward those who comply...

But if that carrot is reduced oversight that we can certainly expect that some of the polluters will step up pollution.

It would be nice to come up with some alternative positive reinforcement since corporations are run by humans and humans, like other mammals respond best to a mix of positive and negative reinforcement.