EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday [12-27-17] ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to revise its nearly 17-year-old standard for dangerous levels of lead in paint and dust within one year, a rare legal move that amounts to a sharp rebuff of President Trump and Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator.
The decision also called attention to the persistent threat of lead paint to children in millions of American homes, four decades after the federal government banned it from households…
The 2-to-1 decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, means the E.P.A. must propose a new rule within 90 days, instead of the six years the Trump administration had requested to reconsider what levels of lead exposure are acceptable for children.
That request was on top of a six-year delay under former President Barack Obama, a holdup the court said was unreasonable, particularly in the face of new research on the hazards of lead paint…
A spokesman for the E.P.A. said the agency was reviewing the court’s decision, and declined to say if the agency planned to appeal or seek review in the Supreme Court.”
-Lisa Friedman, “E.P.A. Wanted Years to Study Lead Paint Rule. It Got 90 Days.,” The New York Times online, Dec. 27, 2017