Power Plays On

Senate Votes on Bill Amendment That Would Allow Study of Power Plant Emissions Without Waiting for Results to Inform Radical Change in Law

Posted: 22-Jan-2003; Updated: 26-Feb-2007

The Senate shot down (46-50) a competing amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), that would have done just that - approve a study of the deleterious health problems linked to power plant emissions while holding off on relaxing them until the results were in.

The impending rollbacks proposed by the Bush Administration last year deal specifically with a part of the landmark 1977 Clean Air Act called the New Source Review (NSR), a provision that calls for older power plants to modernize outmoded equipment in order to cut down on air pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide (a key component of smog), and sulfur dioxide (soot). Today's vote puts the successful NSR regulations, considered a main force in drastic pollution reductions over the past quarter century, in jeopardy.

The Bush Administration announced last June an initiative to reconfigure NSR rules - a move described by Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton as one that would "put the nation on the path to major pollution increases when sound science tells us we need rigorous pollution cuts to protect public health."

A Small Victory?

But if there is a silver lining to today's vote, it may well be in the numbers. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and John Sununu (R-NH) crossed party lines in support of a wait-and-see approach, and two Democrats who have a mixed record on environmental issues - Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and Robert Byrd (D-WV) - supported the Edwards bill as well. Further, four Democrats were absent from today's vote, while four others - Breaux and Landrieu (both LA), Pryor and Lincoln (both AR) - sided with the Inhofe amendment. A slight change in today's attendance might have forced a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Dick Cheney.

"While we are disappointed that the Senate did not adopt the Edwards amendment, we commend those 46 Senators who voted to delay changes in the NSR program until the impact of exempting power plants and other industrial facilities from air pollution controls could be studied," said Environmental Defense legislative director Elizabeth Thompson. "Today's outcome also signals that environmental issues are going to receive close scrutiny in this session of Congress."

The amendment passed today is part of an omnibus appropriations bill.

States Weigh In

Today's battle is a small part of a bigger struggle regarding NSR regulations deemed to be critical components in combating and reducing air pollution. Late last year nine states (New York, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont) weighed in on the issue, filing suit to block changes to the Clean Air Act which, the suit claims, would make the air dirtier.

When the suit was filed, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said, "The Bush administration has taken an action that will bring more acid rain, more smog, more asthma, and more respiratory disease to millions of Americans. The action by the Bush Administration is a betrayal of the right of Americans to breathe clean, healthy air."

Today's vote ushers in similar criticisms of the Senate while acknowledging the small victory in the numbers. "We congratulate those Senators who voted in favor of protecting the environment and public health," said Environmental Defense's Thompson. "Senators who voted against allowing the nation's top scientists to study the impact of changing the Clean Air Act should be prepared to explain their decision to constituents back home."

by Erica Rowell

For More Information:

  For roll call tallies of the Senate's votes on both the Edwards and Inhofe amendments click here.
 Budget Bill Amendment Seeks to Halt Air Pollution Rollbacks (1/16/03)
 Find out more about air quality and the weakening of the New Source Review program.
 Read how states are increasingly taking the lead on clean air and climate issues in the face of federal inaction.
 Support our call to Texas' Attorney General to join other states in demanding cleaner air for citizens.
 9 Northeastern States Challenge Pollution Rule, New York Times article (1/03/03)
 For more news about government actions affecting your air at Washington Watch