Former Senator and current National Chair of the group Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations Blanche Lincoln penned an op-ed piece for the National Journal in which she argues for fewer environmental regulations including those that regulate ground-level ozone. Lincoln argues that, in a struggling economy, maybe it’s a good idea to only enforce current regulations instead of introducing new ones.

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While the debate surrounding the debt ceiling has subsided, the uncertainty that plagues the American economy has not. The federal government continues to be the source of much of the very uncertainty that haunts entrepreneurs, small businesspeople, state and local governments, and the economy in general.

Glen Hooks, regional director for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, sees it a bit differently.

Today, the EPA is working to strengthen our nation’s ozone limits (largely caused by emissions from dirty coal plants). It’s an absolute fact that ozone negatively affects us in terms of health and increases in health care costs to individuals and businesses. High ozone levels can also lead to counties being designated as “non-attainment”, which restricts the amount of industry and manufacturing that can be done in that area. Translation: fewer jobs in areas where the air is already polluted.

In short, [Lincoln’s] article is another scare tactic from industry that leaves out important pieces of the puzzle. Any true cost analysis of environmental regulations would include an analysis of the good results, not just the costs to polluters. Sierra Club strongly supports EPA’s continued efforts to clean up our air and protect the public health, the environment, and—yes—our economy.

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