Obama Seeks to Reverse Bush’s “Midnight Rules” and Prevent Environmental Damage

Since his inauguration a week ago [on January 20, 2009], U.S. President Barack Obama has been busy trying to reverse some of the environmental damage that was either done or set in motion by the Bush administration.

Last week, Obama ordered a freeze on all of the so-called “midnight rules” that were initiated by President Bush but have not yet taken effect—many of them designed to weaken or eliminate environmental protections.

Due to Obama’s quick action, grey wolves will still be federally protected, factories and refineries will not be allowed to expand without applying for federal pollution permits, and millions of acres of public land in Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah will remain closed to logging and oil-shale drilling.

Many Damaging Midnight Rules Already in Effect
Out 65 last-minute rules that the Bush administration pushed through, 23 already have taken effect, some as few as three days before Obama took office. Some of those rules would:

• Change the Endangered Species Act to lessen the requirement for federal agencies to consult with scientists at the Fish and Wildlife or National Marine Fisheries services—the two federal agencies that administer the ESA—about the effects of their actions on threatened species;

• Makes it easier for mining companies to dump waste from mountaintop mining operations into waterways;

• Allow drilling for uranium near the Grand Canyon;

• Eliminate requirements that factory farms report air pollution from animal wasted, and let them decide voluntarily whether they need a permit to discharge animal waste into waterways;

• Reduce limits on airborne lead emissions; and

• Allow visitors to bring loaded guns into some national parks.

Most outgoing presidents rush to establish new rules before they leave office, especially if their successor is a member of another party, but Bush’s use of “midnight rules” to attack the environment is unprecedented.

Two Ways Obama Can Change the Rules
Obama has only two options for reversing rules that are already in effect: He can replace them with new rules, which could take anywhere from several months to a few years because of the need for a new public comment period and the chance of legal challenges to any new rule.

He can ask Congress to use the Congressional Review Act, an obscure law that enables Congress to kill a rule within 60 legislative days (about five or six months) after it goes into effect. The law was passed in 1996 by the GOP-controlled Congress in an effort to control what Republicans saw as excessive regulation by President Clinton.