The chairman of a House committee is demanding the White House turn over documents detailing communications with environmental groups ahead of a major ozone regulation announcement.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough that he wants all communications between the Office of Management and Budget or the Executive Office of the President and outside groups regarding the new regulations.
The specific groups named in the letter are the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters. However, Smith left open the possibility of other groups being involved.
The letter was sent on the same day the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund met with the Environmental Protection Agency about the new ozone regulations. The new rules are expected to become public on Oct. 1.
“Any new lower ozone standard is unnecessary at this time and could cause devastating harm to the economy,” Smith wrote. “However, it is even more troubling that whatever scientific analyses used by EPA to determine its final recommended limit are being disregarded by White House officials for purely political reasons.”
“The American people deserve a thorough science-based analysis of the proposed ozone rule, not one based on partisan political considerations,” he wrote.
Smith also wrote a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Thursday, stating he’s concerned about what he’s hearing about the new ozone standards. Smith said news reports indicate the new ozone standard will be stricter than the original suggestion given by the EPA.
The EPA submitted a letter to the Office of Management and Budget with a proposed ozone cap of 70 parts per billion in August. But, Smith believes outside pressure form environmental groups and the White House might cause the EPA to go below 70 parts per billion.
The new National Ambient Air Quality Standards are expected on Oct. 1. Reports suggest the EPA is looking at lowering the standard for ozone from the current 75 parts per billion to between 60 and 70 parts per billion.
Smith requested all documents and communications between EPA and the Office of Management and Budget and the Executive Office of the President personnel about the final ozone regulations. He also asked that Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, and Joel Beauvais, associate administrator in the Office of Policy, be available to testify in front of the committee.
Smith also requested Howard Shelanski, administrator in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and Christy Goldfuss, managing director of the Council on Environmental Quality, be available to testify. Both Shelanski and Goldfuss’ offices are inside of the Office of Management and Budget.
