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GOP Pushes for Environmental Deregulation at State Level

Around the United States, Republican-controlled states are mounting an all-out assault on environmental regulations.

In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott wants to cut two-thirds of the state funding allocated to Everglades restoration. David Guest, a lawyer with the Florida office of Earthjustice, said Scott has delivered “the most radical anti-environmental budget” of the past two decades.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has taken aim at the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. Christie says the law, which aims to preserve open land and water quality in a region that provides water to half the state’s residents, violates private property rights.

Gov. Paul LePage of Maine, a Tea Party favorite, announced a 63-point plan to cut environmental regulations, including opening three million acres of the North Woods for development and suspending a law meant to monitor toxic chemicals that could be found in children’s products.

“Maine’s working families and small businesses are endangered,” he told Maine residents in a radio speech. “It is time we start defending the interests of those who want to work and invest in Maine with the same vigor that we defend tree frogs and Canadian lynx.”

(via NYT)

Photo: Hikers enjoy the autumn view from Mount Megunticook in Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

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