Senator Boxer said: "Our children and families can breathe easier now that the EPA has abandoned two controversial plans to undermine clean air protections through midnight regulations. EPA has many other damaging and dangerous rules under consideration that deserve the same fate."

The Bush administration announced today it would drop its plans to adopt two Clean Air Act rules that would have allowed power plants and other polluters to increase dangerous smog and soot pollution. The first rule concerned the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program, and would have allowed coal-fired power plants to increase smog and soot pollution without adopting pollution controls. The second rule would have weakened air quality protections for national parks and wilderness areas.

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