Clearing the Air
New EPA clean-air standards have some small businesses fuming.
Small-business groups are lining up behind congressional attempts to delay implementation of the new ozone and particulate matter (PM) air standards the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed in July. If enacted, the standards would force many counties and cities to create clean-air programs, which would likely affect all types of Main Street and shopping-mall businesses nationwide.
Ringleaders of the effort to stall the standards say they're fighting "an uphill battle," says Allen Schaeffer, vice president of environmental affairs at the American Trucking Association. Bills to delay implementation for four years have been introduced in the House (H.R. 1984) by Reps. Ron Klink (D-PA) and Fred Upton (R-MI), and in the Senate (S.1084) by Sens. John Breaux (D-LA) and James Inhofe (R-OK). President Clinton would likely veto the bills, arguing the standards would cut down on respiratory illnesses and deaths. It is unlikely Congress could muster the votes to override a veto.
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