EPA Proposal Would Make Air Pollution Curbs Tougher to Justify

The Trump administration is seeking to overhaul the way it calculates the costs and benefits of environmental regulation, with proposed restrictions that could make it harder to justify air pollution curbs.

Under a proposal announced Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency would subject all significant Clean Air Act rules to a cost-benefit analysis -- even as it limits what potential benefits get fully considered.

Under the proposed approach, the EPA would make decisions about regulation based on a narrow look at the potential costs and benefits, focusing squarely on the specific pollutants targeted by rules and not any auxiliary environmental benefits...