"This misguided campaign by the new administration defies common sense and threatens to befoul the air we breathe, the water we drink and the lands we cherish," Lieberman said. "The peace of mind of our citizens and the exquisite natural beauty of our land deserve better."

These regulations were not formulated overnight or by irresponsible parties, Lieberman said. Months, sometimes years, of labor went into designing them. Public hearings were held around the nation. Extensive comment was solicited. And now, Lieberman added, "seemingly in the blink of an eye, one protection after another is being dismantled."

Many of these threatened rules have received widespread public attention. The administration has targeted scores of others, including rules that support the public’s right to know about toxic lead contamination in their communities, that protect mine workers against toxic underground air pollution, that make our highways and roads safer, and that protect wilderness and wildlife areas from degradation.

Lieberman said he was launching an investigation "into the method behind this madness, that is, the decision-making process leading to these damaging actions. Who have they solicited comment from? Why aren’t they conducting public hearings? What’s the evidence they’ve amassed against the regulations?"

The Senator released three letters he has written to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department and the Agriculture Department, asking for a full accounting of their decisions on the arsenic, mining, and roadless rules.

"The arduous work that went into these rules in the first place - and the innocent people they are designed to protect - should not be disregarded so carelessly," Lieberman said. "President Bush promised during the campaign to set high environmental standards and build conservation partnerships between federal, state and local governments. Instead, his administration is razing high standards that have already been set and partnering with no one but those who would degrade the environment. ‘If you own the land,’ Bush said in one of his debates with Vice President Gore last year, ‘every day is Earth Day.’ Was that just another hollow campaign slogan?"

Letter to EPA Administrator Whitman

Letter to Interior Secretary Norton

Letter to Agriculture Secretary Veneman

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