FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2012, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks against the expansion of the Clean Water Act to authority over wet areas on private land in a pasture owned by Gary Johnson in Waukomis, Okla. While the looming fiscal cliff dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" they say could be just as damaging to the economy. President Barack Obama has spent the past year "punting" on a slew of job-killing regulations that will be unleashed in a second term, said Inhofe. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012, file photo, a loaded logging truck heads down the road in the forest near Banks, Ore. While the looming fiscal cliff dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" they say could be just as damaging to the economy. In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules to scale back mercury emission limits for new power plants and deal with runoff from logging roads. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012, file photo, logger Eric Davis runs down the road as a truck loaded with logs is readied in the forest near Banks, Ore. While the looming fiscal cliff dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" they say could be just as damaging to the economy. In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules to scale back mercury emission limits for new power plants and deal with runoff from logging roads. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — While the “fiscal cliff” of looming tax increases and spending cuts dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a “regulatory cliff” that they say could be just as damaging to the economy. For months, federal agencies …
