GAO says NSR Changes Based on Anecdotes, Not Fact

Lynn Schenkman

Washington, D.C. -- The General Accounting Office (GAO) has announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacked hard data and proven scientific fact when it claimed the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) program needed to be revised, news sources say. The GAO says the EPA relied on anecdotes when it supported the NSR amendments President Bush made on Dec. 31, 2002. The EPA had said the changes, which eased upgrades and pollution-control requirements for utilities, refineries and manufacturers, would decrease emissions and reduce health risks. Several states sued the Bush administration over the program revisions.