"The Bush Record"

2005 was another busy year for the Bush administration. George W. Bush’s reputation regarding environmental issues is about as understood as his abilities as a public speaker, but while some are aware of his administration’s major environmental regressions, hundreds of lesser-known rollbacks remain underreported. The following is a month-by-month account compiled by the National Resource Defense Council of the Bush administration’s actions concerning the environment in 2005.

JANUARY

EPA stops strict enforcement of stormwater pollution rules (01/04/05)
Sage grouse denied protection (01/06/05)
FWS downgrades protected status of Mariana fruit bat (01/07/05)
Judge upholds BLM decision to drill in Alaska (01/10/05)
EPA and NAS report lowers drinking water regulations for perchlorate (01/10/05)
Bush said nuclear energy is a clean, renewable energy source for the future (01/10/05)
FWS designates critical habitat for endangered butterfly (01/11/05)
NAS study concludes Clear Skies would let industrial plants pollute more (01/13/05)
EPA weakens rule for industrial laundries (01/13/05)
EPA forced to crack down on taconite factory pollution (01/17/05)
EPA extends stormwater pollution exemption for oil and gas industry (01/19/05)
Energy industries buy access to Bush inauguration (01/20/05)
EPA grants amnesty to polluting factory farms (01/21/05)
Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t require manufacturers to recycle e-waste (01/21/05)
Otero Mesa grassland opened to drilling (01/24/05)
FWS ignores scientific studies on endangered species (01/27/05)
Bureau of Land Management opens tortoise habitat to motorized recreation (01/27/05)
Fish and Wildlife Services remove federal protection of Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (01/28/05)
Energy industry gets OK to construct 50,000 new natural gas wells in southeastern Montana and Wyoming with no regulations on air pollution built into the contract (01/28/05)

FEBRUARY

Former OSHA official said inspectors ignore beryllium exposure (02/01/05)
FWS proposes ESA protection for rare beetle (02/01/05)
Judge rules against mining in Montana wilderness (02/03/05)
EPA environmental report to include global warming data (02/03/05)
EPA Inspector General said mercury proposal favors industry (02/03/05)
Environmental programs take biggest hit in 2006 budget proposal (02/07/05)
Survey of FWS scientists concludes scientific distortion by Bush (02/09/05)
BLM calls for more drilling in Wyoming wildlands (02/15/05)
Bush said new technologies, not Kyoto, is key to climate change fix (02/17/05)
Forest Service sued over Sierra Nevada logging plan (02/20/05)
Judge approves off-road vehicle restrictions in Florida’s Big Cypress Preserve (02/22/05)
EPA seeks expansion of voluntary pollution-reduction programs (02/23/05)
UN environmental summit agrees to reduce mercury pollution voluntarily (02/25/05)

MARCH

Bush administration air pollution plan would exempt 58,000 industrial sources (03/01/05)
FWS allows imports of depleted beluga caviar to continue (03/02/05)
FWS considers pygmy rabbit for ESA protection (03/04/05)
Bush nominates scientist to head EPA (03/04/05)
FWS cuts critical habitat designation for vernal pools species (03/08/05)
White House seeks to relax environmental rules affecting manufacturers (03/09/05)
EPA issues rule to reduce power plant pollution in many states (03/10/05)
EPA weakens mercury reduction requirements for power plants (03/15/05)
Bush administration appeals mountaintop-mining defeat (03/18/05)
Florida crocodiles to lose endangered status (03/24/05)
BLM plans to open up protected desert land to recreation and development (03/24/05)
States sue EPA over new mercury rule (03/29/05)

APRIL

Bush administration promotes “rigs-to-reefs” plan (04/04/05)
Green sturgeon slated for endangered species list (04/05/05)
Courts fault federal officials in Florida for failing to protect endangered species (04/06/05)
FWS cites national security as reason to reduce habitat protection in California (04/08/05)
EPA decides against testing pesticides on children (04/08/05)
FWS officials drastically trim endangered toad protections (04/13/05)
EPA proposes weaker selenium standard (04/13/05)
EPA’s mercury pollution plan won’t meet reduction targets on time (04/21/05)

MAY

Bush administration forges ahead with plans to privatize public agencies (05/10/05)
EPA delays required safeguards on lead-based paint (05/10/05)
White House pushes nuclear power plants (05/17/05)
Bush administration agrees to protect desert plants in Utah (05/17/05)
EPA drops its sewage-dumping proposal (05/19/05)
FWS denies protection for pygmy rabbit (05/24/05)
EPA gives money for beach monitoring programs (05/25/05)
Judge rules Bush administration played down threat to endangered fish (05/26/05)
Forest Service employee punished for reporting pesticide misuse (05/27/05)

JUNE

EPA to keep new Clean Air Act regulations that increase pollution (06/02/05)
EPA head defends previous pesticide testing on children (06/02/05)
BLM opens Otero Mesa for oil and gas development (06/07/05)
Bush administration disregards science on grazing damage (06/15/05)
Former oil lobbyist employed by White House leaves to join Exxon Mobil Corp. (06/15/05)
New Fisheries Service rules could harm fish (06/22/05)
FWS reinstates whistle-blower employee (06/29/05)
EPA to allow mine wastewater discharge into Alaskan bay (06/29/05)
BLM limits citizen input on drilling on public lands (06/30/05)

JULY

Bush admits humans cause global warming, but rebuffs action (07/06/05)
Government agencies partner for Great Lakes cleanup (07/07/05)
BLM pays oil and gas industry to work on drilling permits (07/08/05)
Bush administration expands popular energy conservation program (07/10/05)
FWS broke the law, investigation finds (07/13/05)
BLM’s new grazing rules issued in disregard of gov’t scientists’ concerns (07/16/05)
Federal judge says San Joaquin River water contracts hurt endangered species (07/28/05)

AUGUST

Interior Dept. may allow increased natural gas drilling in Utah canyon (08/02/05)
EPA to try out new asbestos removal method (08/02/05)
BLM makes environmental cleanup optional for oil and gas companies (08/05/05)
Bush administration creates nation’s largest marine protected area off Alaska (08/08/05)
Alaskan sea otter gets ESA protection (08/09/05)
Park Service spending millions more on Yellowstone snowmobiling study (08/10/05)
Bush administration slashes habitat protections for salmon (08/12/05)
Bush administration devalues estimated contribution of forest recreation to economy (08/15/05)
Federal judge rebukes Bush administration for downgrading salamander protections (08/19/05)
White House proposes weak fuel economy standards for large vehicles (08/23/05)
BLM director encouraged ranchers’ lawsuits against her own agency (08/29/05)

SEPTEMBER

EPA makes toxics reporting standards more lenient for industry.