Letter from the Director

Clean Air Act Under Attack
By David W. Ponder

In late February, the Bush-Cheney Administration released its so-called “Clear Skies” initiative, aimed at reducing air pollution and global warming.   In reality, the proposal is nothing but a smokescreen and we’d be better off if the Administration had proposed nothing at all.  

    Shamefully, the proposal would actually increase the amount of pollution power plants are allowed to emit for a longer period of time than is allowed under current rules. That’s right. The plan actually allows power plants to pollute more, longer and that means more smog, more soot and more toxic fish .

    Pollution from power plants and refineries pose serious threats to our environment, the air we breathe, and the public health.  At issue are four pollutants: mercury, a potent toxin that disrupts the human nervous system; nitrogen and sulfur oxides that produce smog, acid rain and tiny soot particles that are especially dangerous to children and the elderly; and carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas.  

    Big utility, coal, and oil interests have been lobbying the Administration for more than a year to persuade them to ease regulations for oil and gas drilling, coal-fired and nuclear power plants, and transmition of electricity.   

"Many were asking what did Enron get for their money? Could it be a clean air roll back?

    Among the industry lobbyists and executives meeting with the Vice-President and Energy Secretary were representatives from Enron, the Edison Electric, the Southern Company, and Peabody Coal.  Also meeting with the Vice President was former Montana Governor Marc Racicot.  Since leaving Montana, Racicot went to work for the Houston-based law firm Bracewell & Patterson, for whom he served as a lobbyist for Enron and the National Electric Reliability Council, a utility  industry trade group.

    A top priority for both of Mr. Racicot’s clients is the roll back of enforcement rules that require the nation’s oldest and dirtiest power plants and refineries to meet modern standards, called “new-source review” (NSR).  The NSR program was incorporated into the Clean Air Act in 1977 to ensure that new sources of pollution, and the expansion of existing sources, do not hinder progress toward cleaning up the nation’s air.

    Enforcement of the program gets results.  For example, last December, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced an agreement with Conoco Inc. and the Montana Refining Company, which will result in significant reductions in air emissions from refineries in Billings and Great Falls.  The announcement stems from cases initiated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the new source review program.  

    The Administration’s intention to weaken these rules has already prompted the Director of the EPA Office of Regulatory Enforcement to resign in protest over the NSR rollback.  And earlier this year, as the collapse of energy giant Enron unfolded, the White House faced increasing public scrutiny about the ties between Kenneth Lay and the Administration. Many were asking what did Enron get for their money? Could it be a clean air roll back?

     It was under this mounting criticism that the Administration released the Clear Skies proposal in late February. Yet, the Administration could not seem to help themselves in handing out favors to special interests. The plan is unacceptable and Congress should reject the rollback of our critical environmental and public health safeguards.  

    MontPIRG is leading a statewide coalition of more than 70 public health advocates, church groups, environmental organizations, small business owners, and concerned citizens to oppose the roll back of our clean air protections and to pass new clean air and public health provisions that will reduce harmful emissions.

    We are currently working to pass the Clean Power Act (S. 566) , which is being considered by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee . This bill would result in real emission reductions that build upon our current clean air laws.