Environment Update
March 20, 2002
Volume III, Number 3
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CAFE Amendment Approved
On March 13, 2002, the Senate passed an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2002 (S. 517) drafted by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) that directs the Department of Transportation's National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to complete a rulemaking that would increase CAFE standards for light trucks (which includes sport utility vehicles). Current law requires passenger vehicles to attain a CAFE standard of 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) and light trucks 20.7 mpg. The amendment does not establish specific targets. NHTSA would be required to release the rule within 15 months after the enactment of S. 517 and would require automobile manufactures to comply within six months thereafter. S. 517 also includes an amendment offered by Senator Zell Miller (D-Ga.) that would exempt pickup trucks from any increase in CAFE standards. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry (D-Mass) withheld their amendment to increase CAFE standards for both light trucks as passenger vehicles an average of 36 mpg by 2015.
Senators Request New Source Review Comment Period
On March 1, 2002, six Senators sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman requesting that any changes made to the New Source Review (NSR) program go through a full public notice and comment rulemaking process. The letter was signed by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), chairman of the Governmental Affairs, James Jeffords (I-Vt.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The Senators expressed concern that changes to the NSR were being developed behind closed doors. The Bush administration's National Energy Policy proposal called for the EPA to conduct a review of the NSR program's impact on environmental protection and energy production. The review is still in progress and has been expanded to include implementation of reforms proposed in 1996, including plantwide emissions limits and changes to the definition of emission increases. While the EPA has stated that no final decisions have been made, Jeffrey Holmstead, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, has stated that President Bush will veto any bill allowing power plants to engage in an emissions trading program that does not eliminate NSR as an enforcement tool.
Government Issues Report on Obstacles in Innovative Sate Regulatory Programs
On March 4, 2002, the General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report that identifies states' most significant obstacle to developing innovative approaches to protecting the environment is the complexity of federal regulations and the lack of flexibility states are allowed in implementing federal mandates. The report, Overcoming Obstacles to Innovative State Regulatory Programs, also cites EPA staffers resistance to regulatory change when states propose projects that they feel are more efficient and effective. The EPA has implemented programs that works towards streamlining environmental requirements while encouraging more effective means of protecting the environment. The EPA's Project XL and the Joint EPA/State Agreement to Pursue Regulatory Innovation were among the primary approaches cited by state environmental officials. However, the GAO report stressed that EPA officials hesitancy will most likely continue because "[c]urrent legislation does not contain explicit language authorizing the use of innovative environmental approaches in lieu of specific regulatory requirements". The report is available online at www.gao.gov.
House to Introduce Legislation Reinstating Superfund Tax
Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) plan to introduce legislation soon that will reinstate the Superfund tax for the next five years. The oil and chemical industries were required to pay a tax used to fund the cleanup of Superfund sites until the legislation expired in 1995. The administration's FY2003 budget request did not include a proposal to reinstate the tax. At a March 12, 2002 hearing before the House VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Committee, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said the administration supports a "polluter pays" principle for cleaning up Superfund sites, and responsible parties are funding about 70 percent of the sites cleanup. Whitman went on to explain that all companies were previously required to pay a tax, regardless of whether they were polluting, and would then pass the expense on to consumers. Since the tax has expired, the trust fund has dwindled from $3.8 billion to $28 million and is expected to last only through FY2003. EPA officials have said the depletion of the trust fund could slow pace of cleanups. The Senate's energy package (S. 517) includes $16 billion in tax incentives with $3.2 billion in tax breaks aimed at the oil and gas industry. However, the Senate has not yet agreed on how the tax cuts will be offset. One of the most widely mentioned is reinstating the Superfund tax, but Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has stated the reinstatement of the Superfund tax would be difficult to pass. NCSL expressed its concerns with the administration's decision not to seek reauthorization of the Superfund Trust Fund in a March 18, 2002 letter from NCSL Environment Committee Chairman Delegate Leon Billings. It is accessible on the NCSL website at www.ncsl.org/statefed/sprfdtx.htm
Mark Your Calendars
AFI Spring Meeting
May 9-11, 2002
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
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NCSL Contacts:
Molly Stauffer
Committee Director
(202) 624-3584
Laurie Holmes
Committee Assistant
(202)624-8695 |
