Cheney's Office Joins Intensifying Debate over New Ozone Rules

WASHINGTON — With a week to go before the Environmental Protection Agency must propose a new set of limits on ozone in the air, industries have appealed to the White House to block stricter limits.

Records show that representatives of automobile and electric power companies appealed for support from the White House last week in a pair of Office of Management and Budget meetings, one of them attended by a representative of Vice President Dick Cheney.

Cheney has "long been considered the go-to guy for big industries opposed to tougher environmental regulation," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental activist group.

"It's pretty rare for someone with the vice president to sit in on a meeting like this," O'Donnell added. "It suggests that industry has really sought to elevate this politically."

Industries have been joined by governors of a dozen states, including Georgia, in arguing against tighter ozone restrictions.

Ozone, emitted mainly by electric power plants and motor vehicles, is a major component of the chemical-laden air pollution known as smog. It causes respiratory and cardiovascular problems at current levels, according to recent studies.

Staff scientists and an official panel of outside advisers have recommended to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson that allowable concentrations be sharply reduced.

Before the agency can initiate the rule-making process, the proposed regulation has to be approved by OMB.

Cheney's office declined to answer questions about why a member of the vice president's staff sat in on an OMB meeting with automobile industry lobbyists on June 4.

"We don't comment on internal deliberations," said Cheney spokesman Jamie Hennigan.

Clean Air Watch, the American Lung Association and Environmental Defense have called a news conference Thursday to argue for tighter regulations.