Yesterday brought news of another rollback on environmental protections by the Bush administration. The U.S. EPA announced that it would rescind a proposal by the Clinton administration to increase public access to information about the potential consequences of chemical plant accidents. Environmental groups say that communities could better plan for disasters if they had access to the worst-case scenarios drawn up by plant operators. But industry officials, some members of Congress, and law enforcement officials argue that the information is too sensitive and could help terrorists hatch attacks.
