by James M. Inhofe

About the author: James M. Inhofe is a Republican senator from Oklahoma and chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s, or EPA’s, proposed changes to the nation’s air-quality standards are the most expansive and expensive environmental regulations in history. Based on inconclusive and unsubstantiated science, the rules are premature at best. If adopted, they will result in tremendous costs—up to tens of billions of dollars annually—imposed on state and local governments as well as on individuals, businesses and communities. The likely result: More states threatened with loss of federal highway funds, more businesses forced to absorb costs of expensive new technologies and more drivers facing...