In a victory for the Bush administration, the Senate has defeated a Democratic-led attempt to put off implementation of new federal air-pollution rules pending a study. On Jan. 22, the Senate rejected a proposal by John Edwards (D-N.C.) to delay for six months the "New Source Review" regulations the Environmental Protection Agency announced in November.
The rules, which EPA has slated to take effect March 3, help determine when upgrades to powerplants, petroleum refineries and factories also require their owners to install advanced pollution-control equipment.