The EPA again appears to be pursuing a gnat with a howitzer. Under the new standards ozone levels will be reduced by thirty per cent. Dust particulates will be set at 2.5 microns or less, reducing by seventy-five per cent the current 10 micron limit. On the surface these regulations appear innocuous and an indication of genuine concern for the health of American citizens. Looking beneath the surface, however, it can be observed that these proposals may be devastating to small business and cost metropolitan cities enormous amounts of money to implement.
Estimates run from three to seven billion dollars for cities like Chicago.
The real intent behind the EPA's new regulations seem to be the same as those the government has for its intended assault on domestic terrorism, i.e. control and limitation, especially individual travel and freedom of movement. The new EPA proposals, which must undergo extensive review before implementation, are expected to result in restrictions on American lives heretofore unprecedented. Another result will be further subjugation of municipal and state governments under the heel of the federal government. By making the standards more rigid, it will then make those metropolitan areas that are not presently in compliance with current, much looser standards, appear all the more illegal. This will result in giving the national government more leverage to force all manner of legislative controls upon them.