From The Center for American Prgress
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=6228
SAUDI ARABIA
Under the Influence
by David Sirota, Christy Harvey and Judd Legum
ENVRIO -- EARTH DAY EXAGGERATIONS:
President Bush touted his environmental record at the National
Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine, yesterday, saying, "For
many years, our nation has been working to prevent the net loss of
wetlands."
The president's record says just the opposite:
On Jan. 14, 2002, the Army Corps of Engineers weakened environmental
standards to make it easier for developers, mining companies and
others to dredge and fill wetlands.
This action revoked a requirement for acre-for-acre replacement of
destroyed wetlands, lifted protection from seasonal streams, and
allowed permits to be issued for commercial development projects that
destroy up to three acres of wetlands.
The EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service drafted comments objecting
to the changes, but Interior Secretary Gale Norton blocked them from
being delivered.
According to a report published yesterday by the National Wildlife
Federation, "America's wetlands are in more trouble today than they
have been in decades because current federal policies increasingly
expose them to pollution, dredging and filling."
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My goodness. Georgie, the tree-hugger.
Harry
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