While President Bush was standing among the ruins of New Orleans on Thursday night and promising to rebuild the drowned city, his allies in the Senate were introducing legislation that would suspend environmental laws for projects involved in the Katrina recovery.

The bill would give the Bush administration the ability to change or disregard laws regarding water and air quality without consultation with Congress. The thinly veiled attack on environmental regulation was introduced as a way to speed the cleanup and reconstruction in any state affected by Katrina.

In reality, it would be a blank check for the executive branch and non-government contractors to avoid appropriate oversight of their activities. And the broad language of the bill could tear down environmental protections far beyond Louisiana and Mississippi. With 40 states and the District of Columbia declared disaster areas as a result of Katrina (all but Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming), the bill could be used to undermine federal safeguards nationally.

Environmental laws and regulations won’t inhibit the proper recovery of the Gulf Coast. To the contrary, the rules make sure that the work is done in a way that protects the environment and the habitability of the region. Ignoring such protections would further threaten the already heavily damaged area and put public health at risk.

New Orleans has been swimming in a toxic witches’ brew of petro-chemicals, sewage and death since Katrina made landfall almost a month ago. There are legitimate concerns about heavy-metal contamination and long-lasting ecological damage. The last thing the area needs is an open door for more environmental abuse.