Congress Poised to Gut Environmental Laws
Congress Poised to Gut Environmental Laws
By Chris Baltimore
Reuters
Wednesday 28 September 2005
Washington - House Republicans on Wednesday will launch a
rapid-fire assault against environmental protections on the pretext of
helping the US oil and gas industry recover from hurricane damage,
environmental groups charge.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Resources
Committee are holding separate meetings to finalize legislation
Wednesday, with the aim of combining them into a single energy bill for
the full House to debate next week.
The resources panel, led by Richard Pombo of California, wants to
lift a ban on Florida offshore drilling, promote oil shale and sell a
dozen national parks for energy development.
"This really has very little to do with the hurricanes or relief
efforts or even refiners. This is deregulation pure and simple," said
John Walke of Natural Resources Defense Council.
Texan Joe Barton's energy committee wants to expand US gasoline
production by loosening federal rules that limit pollution when
refineries or coal-fired power plants are expanded. US gasoline
supplies have tightened since hurricanes Katrina and Rita roared across
the US Gulf Coast, closing up to one-fourth of the nation's refining
capacity.
House Republicans received a thumbs up from President Bush Monday
when he said environmental rules and paperwork are obstacles holding up
US refinery expansions.
Bush specifically criticized the relatively obscure "new source
review" rule administered by the Environmental Protection Agency as
part of the Clean Air Act. It aims to protect public health by ensuring
that refinery expansions do not increase acid rain and smog.
Environmentalists perked up their ears at Bush's remarks, noting
that he rarely mentions the program.
"You know darn well that the president doesn't have a clue what new
source review is," said Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch. "It's clear
that there's a coordinated effort between the White House and Congress
to put key environmental protections on the chopping block."
Barton said his bill would help US refiners gird against another
natural disaster like the recent hurricanes, which highlighted the US
dearth of refining capacity.
In an interview, Barton said new source review "was a tool to
blackmail industry" into deferring plant upgrades.
"We don't want more emissions but we do want to give existing
industrial facilities the ability to retrofit and modernize without
going through a laborious permitting process," Barton said.
A draft copy of Barton's bill would codify an EPA proposal that
allows plants to expand their facilities without triggering
anti-pollution rules, NRDC'S Walke said. That proposal was frozen by a
federal judge in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer.
"If the new Barton rule were adopted it would set us back 40 or 50
years," said Judith Enck, a Spitzer aide.
It would also adopt a utility-friendly strategy that says the
anti-pollution rules only apply if expansion projects boost hourly
emission rates, not overall plant emissions. Using that test, a federal
appeals court in June ruled that Duke Power did not violate the law by
expanding eight North Carolina plants without adding expensive
anti-pollution devices.
Pombo's separate bill would open the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil drilling as well as letting states opt out of an offshore
oil leasing ban. He also wants to sell 15 national parks for energy or
commercial development, including the Mary McLeod Bethune House in
Washington, D.C.
By Chris Baltimore
Reuters
Wednesday 28 September 2005
Washington - House Republicans on Wednesday will launch a
rapid-fire assault against environmental protections on the pretext of
helping the US oil and gas industry recover from hurricane damage,
environmental groups charge.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Resources
Committee are holding separate meetings to finalize legislation
Wednesday, with the aim of combining them into a single energy bill for
the full House to debate next week.
The resources panel, led by Richard Pombo of California, wants to
lift a ban on Florida offshore drilling, promote oil shale and sell a
dozen national parks for energy development.
"This really has very little to do with the hurricanes or relief
efforts or even refiners. This is deregulation pure and simple," said
John Walke of Natural Resources Defense Council.
Texan Joe Barton's energy committee wants to expand US gasoline
production by loosening federal rules that limit pollution when
refineries or coal-fired power plants are expanded. US gasoline
supplies have tightened since hurricanes Katrina and Rita roared across
the US Gulf Coast, closing up to one-fourth of the nation's refining
capacity.
House Republicans received a thumbs up from President Bush Monday
when he said environmental rules and paperwork are obstacles holding up
US refinery expansions.
Bush specifically criticized the relatively obscure "new source
review" rule administered by the Environmental Protection Agency as
part of the Clean Air Act. It aims to protect public health by ensuring
that refinery expansions do not increase acid rain and smog.
Environmentalists perked up their ears at Bush's remarks, noting
that he rarely mentions the program.
"You know darn well that the president doesn't have a clue what new
source review is," said Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch. "It's clear
that there's a coordinated effort between the White House and Congress
to put key environmental protections on the chopping block."
Barton said his bill would help US refiners gird against another
natural disaster like the recent hurricanes, which highlighted the US
dearth of refining capacity.
In an interview, Barton said new source review "was a tool to
blackmail industry" into deferring plant upgrades.
"We don't want more emissions but we do want to give existing
industrial facilities the ability to retrofit and modernize without
going through a laborious permitting process," Barton said.
A draft copy of Barton's bill would codify an EPA proposal that
allows plants to expand their facilities without triggering
anti-pollution rules, NRDC'S Walke said. That proposal was frozen by a
federal judge in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer.
"If the new Barton rule were adopted it would set us back 40 or 50
years," said Judith Enck, a Spitzer aide.
It would also adopt a utility-friendly strategy that says the
anti-pollution rules only apply if expansion projects boost hourly
emission rates, not overall plant emissions. Using that test, a federal
appeals court in June ruled that Duke Power did not violate the law by
expanding eight North Carolina plants without adding expensive
anti-pollution devices.
Pombo's separate bill would open the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil drilling as well as letting states opt out of an offshore
oil leasing ban. He also wants to sell 15 national parks for energy or
commercial development, including the Mary McLeod Bethune House in
Washington, D.C.
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