WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama asked the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to withdraw a plan that would tighten national air-quality standards.
Obama said the request was made a part of a broader government effort to reduce regulatory burdens and uncertainty, especially as the economy recovers.
"With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time," Obama said in a statement.
The EPA, under pressure from business and Republican lawmakers, had delayed several times issuing the new rule that would limit smog pollution in the United States.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, supported by a broad range of environmental groups, has said the ozone rules would save as much as $100 billion in health costs, and help prevent as much as 12,000 premature deaths from heart and lung complications.
(Editing by Dale Hudson)
