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US environment regulations swamped by tide of failures

The Environmental Protection Agency's admission that it will miss a deadline to propose new greenhouse-gas rules is just the latest piece of bad news

MAYBE it will be third time lucky for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last week it admitted that to propose rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants – already .

The regulations have been hanging in the air since 2007, when the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA should regulate emissions as they can harm public health. Sadly, the delay is just part of a tide of bad news for US environment policy. Two weeks ago, President Obama postponed plans for stricter controls on ozone pollution. And on Monday the EPA was accused of facilitating Arctic oil drilling after for a Shell vessel that will drill exploratory oil wells off the north-west coast of Alaska next year.

Even the agency’s new cross-state air pollution rule, which regulates emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants, could be in trouble. On 8 August, Texas .

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