Bush administration urged not to alter pollution regulations

A group of governors in the north-east of the US has expressed concerns that air quality will suffer if President Bush proceeds with a plan to relax power plant pollution control regulations.

The group, made up of governors from both parties, has objected to the proposed change to a rule obliging operators of older power plants to carry out modernisation to control pollution whenever changes to facilities raise annual emissions, reports the Environmental News Service.

The administration has plans to change the wording to ensure the compliance is with hourly emissions, meaning the amount of pollution could increase if the number of hours of production increases.

Connecticut governor Jodi Rell said: "Using hourly instead of annual emissions as the threshold for a New Source Review and the installation of pollution control devices stands the intent of the Clean Air Act on its head."

In his policy programme, incoming president Barack Obama has pledged to invest $150 billion in renewable energy over the next decade, with such technology producing 25 per cent of America's electricity by 2025.