EPA GRANTS DETROIT'S 'BUMP-DOWN' REQUEST OVER ACTIVISTS' OBJECTIONS

EPA has granted a state request to ease ozone requirements for Detroit, MI, over environmentalists' objections that the request lacked any legal basis and that granting it would set a dangerous precedent for EPA's air program. The state used a novel method to assess air pollution levels by using rounding arithmetic to adjust a calculation of average ozone conditions. The decision also has political implications because Michigan is a battleground state in the presidential race, and Michigan's economic woes are...