The Obama administration is preparing for the release of a series of energy regulations over the coming weeks in advance of a Republican-controlled Congress next year that will prompt pushback from industries and lawmakers, testing President Barack Obama’s commitment to his environmental agenda. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lower limits for ground-level ozone , or smog, in the atmosphere, setting off a nearly yearlong regulatory process for setting a new standard. Public-health and environmental groups say the limits are essential in preventing a range of respiratory diseases. Businesses say it could be the costliest regulation in U.S. history. By year’s end, the administration plans to release at least three other regulations, including another from EPA regulating coal ash, […]