Liberal Senate Democrats are pressing the White House to hold firm on several air-pollution rules following President Obama’s surprise decision to scuttle looming smog standards that had come under heavy attack from Republicans and industry groups.

The ozone decision announced Friday disappointed environmentalists and many Democrats, who are now urging the White House to avoid a repeat performance on other pollution regulations that are in the GOP’s political crosshairs heading into the 2012 elections.

“I hope that they will hold the line, but if they are willing to give up on ozone, where the science is really clear, it is hard to see what the distinction is with others,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

He said White House staff told him last week beforehand about their decision to abandon rules that would toughen Bush-era smog standards, which the administration now plans to reconsider in 2013.
 
Whitehouse said he used the call to make the case for other protections.

“I did urge them to continue to protect the environmental authorities of [the Environmental Protection Agency],” he said Tuesday evening in the Capitol.

The EPA is preparing to issue rules on air toxics from power plants and industrial boilers, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental regulations that are also opposed by many Republicans.

House Republicans are also seeking to delay recently finalized EPA rules to curb power plant sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that blow across state lines.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who also opposes Obama’s ozone decision, said he has communicated with the administration about the ozone retreat, and said his message was “Look, this is disappointing, and there are a lot of important air-quality issues.”

Menendez said he is confident that the ozone decision won’t lead to a larger trend.

“I believe they will hold the line, and I know there are plenty of voices urging them to hold the line, and that is what I think will end up happening,” Menendez said Tuesday in the Capitol, noting: “I think this may have been isolated.”

The White House, while ditching the ozone regulation, is vowing to stand firm against other attacks on the EPA’s Clean Air Act powers and rules.

Obama, in announcing that he would override EPA plans to issue final ozone rules, said the administration “will continue to vigorously oppose efforts to weaken EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act or dismantle the progress we have made.”

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) also opposed Obama’s ozone decision, but noted she was “heartened” by Obama’s statement about defending other Clean Air Act efforts, calling it “very strong.”

“I am involved with hand-to-hand combat with people in the House,” Boxer said. “They are trying to destroy the EPA, destroy the Clean Air Act, so I was heartened. It seemed that the president went out of his way to address the larger issue of this battle that we’re facing.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the most liberal member of the Senate, said he plans to register his disappointment with the administration over the ozone decision.

“I want to make sure that this doesn’t become the trend,” he said Tuesday.

Obama, in announcing the ozone delay, cited the need to reduce regulatory burdens and uncertainty, especially during the economic recovery. He also suggested that the ozone rule was a special case.

“Work is already under way to update a 2006 review of the science that will result in the reconsideration of the ozone standard in 2013,” Obama said Friday in a news release. “Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.”

Boxer, in Tuesday remarks to reporters at the Capitol, reiterated her opposition to the ozone delay and rejected the idea that the regulation would hinder the economy.

“Environmental protection has always created jobs, and it has also kept people healthy so they can go to work, so it really adds to the prosperity of the country,” she said.