Rube Goldberg Had Nothing on EPA: The Agency Releases Its Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action

EPA has just released its Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action. I can’t say I’m excited. The broad issue is probably too complex for a blog post, but the simple version is as follows:

  1. Congress passes environmental protection laws for EPA to implement.
  2. Those statutes generally provide for EPA to set standards with something like “an adequate margin of safety.”
  3. EPA does its job.

Contrast the simplified model process shown above with this diagram from the Interim Guidance.

Trust me; it wouldn’t help if it were legible (though you can find the legible version in Appendix B to the Interim Guidance if you want).  Now contrast this model process with Rube Goldberg’s design for a Self-Operating Napkin.

Might there be a reason why people are leery of large federal bureaucracies?

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