|
Trenton, NJ --- With the U.S. House of Representatives set to vote tomorrow on a bill that pretends to address high energy prices but really implements President Bush's proposed changes to clean air standards, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today denounced the legislation and highlighted how environmentally harmful the proposed changes to the New Source Review program would be to New Jersey.
The New Jersey congressman was joined at a press conference at the State House by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley Campbell and NJ Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel.
New Source Review is the Clean Air Act program that requires the oldest and dirtiest power plants and refineries to install modern pollution controls whenever they make major modifications that substantially increase pollution. In 2002, the Bush administration announced weaker rules that would allow power plants and refineries to avoid existing pollution controls when updating or expanding their facilities.
Following the Bush administration's announcement, New Jersey and 12 other states filed multiple lawsuits citing serious impacts the changes would have on air quality in the eastern states. While courts have ruled in favor of the states in some of the suits, the House energy bill ignores those court rulings and codifies the administration's proposals into law. Pallone, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, opposed the legislation when it was voted out of the committee last week.
"Federal clean air provisions like New Source Review are essential to our ability to clean New Jersey's air," Pallone said. "If Washington Republicans gut these clean air protections, it will have serious consequences for New Jersey's environment and our health. Rather than doing anything to cut gas prices, this energy bill contains more industry giveaways, and most egregiously relaxes rules that keep our air clean."
Pallone cited a report by the Clean Air Task Force, using data from the Energy Information Administration estimates that the NSR rule changes will cause an additional 400,000 asthma attacks and 20,000 premature deaths every year across the country. Conservative estimates show the Bush administration's proposed NSR changes would increase soot-forming sulfur dioxide emissions by 7.1 million tons and smog-forming nitrous oxide emissions by 2.7 million tons.
Specifically, the Bush administration's proposed changes would allow plants to get away with complying with NSR if their upgrades or repairs only affect 20 percent of the plant. Pallone said that given the size of many of these power plants, 20 percent still constitutes an enormous change that could result in serious increases in pollution. In December 2003, a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals stayed the 20 percent rule indefinitely.
The president also wants to allow plants to calculate potential emissions, rather than actual emissions, which would also allow companies to pollute more. In July, that same court struck down this provision.
Finally, the administration includes a provision that would calculate emissions increases by using the highest maximum hourly emissions rate over the past five years, rather than total tons of air pollution per year. This change would allow corporate polluters to put out more emissions overall.
If the House approves the legislation codifying the Bush administration's NSR changes, the legislation will then go to the Senate for its review. |
