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The article reports on a delayed announcement of Steven Johnson, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (EPA) on a new smog standard that lowered the acceptable ozone levels from 80 to 75 part per billion released by EPA in March 2008. It is stated that EPA wanted to make the standard tougher and that Office of the Management and Budget objected with regards to its cost that caused the standard to be weakened. Furthermore, setting new standards confused the agency. Johnson states that U.S. President George Bush let him made the final determination.

This article examines the new rules on low-sulfur diesel fuels published by the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. in May 2006. The newest addition to the agency's compliment of rules affecting the diesel fuel industry was motivated by the need for additional changes to the regulations. The rules mandate the use of lower-sulfur fuels in diesel engines beginning in 2006 for highway diesel, and 2007 for nonroad diesel fuel. Refiners and importers are required to produce highway diesel fuel meeting a 15-ppm maximum requirement starting in June 2006.