The Bush administration is helping powerful interests weaken the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program, which forces old, dirty power plants and other facilities to install modern pollution controls. These changes will make it easier for 17,000 facilities to emit more pollution, resulting in more disease, death and damage to the environment.

Recently, there was a vote in U.S. Senate on the Edwards-Lieberman Clean Air Amendment, which would have blocked the first set of White House rollbacks of the New Source Review program. Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate defeated the Edwards Clean Air Amendment by a vote of 46 to 50.

While we didn't win on this vote, this was an impressive vote count that sends a strong message to the White House that the public is opposed to efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act.

The next step is to demonstrate public opposition to the Bush administration's second set of proposed changes to the New Source Review Program. The first set of changes undermines this key clean air protection program, but the second set of proposed rules goes even farther and virtually eliminates the New Source Review program.

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking comments on the proposed changes right now. Please take a moment to let EPA Administrator Whitman know that you oppose any efforts to weaken one of our crucial clean air protections. Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail the EPA.

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