Democrats Are Fighting for Clean Air

Fighting Bush Administration’s Effort to Weaken Regulations on Air Pollution from Old, Dirty Power Plants

At the behest of big, polluting industries that have contributed to the Bush-Cheney and other Republican campaigns, the Bush Administration issued regulations in 2003 significantly weakening the anti-pollution requirements on old, dirty power plants. 

The 1970 Clean Air Act required air pollution controls on new power plants and other industrial facilities, but not on existing ones, expecting that old plants would be gradually shut down and replaced with new ones.  But many companies simply upgraded their old plants, so in 1977 Congress updated the Clean Air Act with a new provision called New Source Review (NSR), which requires that industrial plants add modern air pollution controls when they are upgraded or modified and substantially increase their air pollution emissions. 

For years, many industrial facilities ignored the law’s requirements and upgraded their plants without adding modern pollution controls.  Finally, in 1999, the Clinton Administration sued many of the biggest polluting power companies for ignoring the Clean Air Act’s requirements.  During 2000, the CEOs of the affected industries then rallied around presidential candidate George Bush, contributing and raising large sums for his campaign.

As a result, the minute the Bush Administration took office, the requirements of the Clean Air Act were under attack.  In 2001, Vice President Cheney’s energy task force collected recommendations from Bush campaign supporters on how to weaken the “New Source Review” requirements.  Then, in 2003, the Bush Administration issued its regulations weakening “New Source Review.” These new regulations allowed old power plants and other industrial facilities to upgrade without having to install new anti-pollution devices.  Specifically, the regulations allowed companies to spend up to 20 percent of the value of their facility on upgrades without triggering the requirement for new pollution controls.

As the regulations were being developed, the Bush Administration claimed that the lawsuits begun under President Clinton would continue, but shortly after the new regulations were issued, EPA acknowledged that the pending cases against power companies were being dropped.

With the encouragement of many Democrats, a number of states, cities, and environmental groups filed suit to block the new Bush regulations.  Since 2003, in a sign that the Administration had truly gone too far, the courts have stayed the implementation of the new rules.  On March 17, 2006, the US Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the regulations, stating that the Administration could not simply ignore a law it didn’t like.   Unfortunately, the appeal court’s ruling may not be the last word; the legal fight is expected to continue, with many considering a ruling from the Supreme Court likely.

In the meantime, power companies and other industrial polluters are saving bundles of money by evading the Clean Air Act – but the cost to human health is high. According to the Clean Air Task Force, “Fine particle pollution from U.S. power plants cuts short the lives of nearly 24,000 people each year, including 2800 from lung cancer.  The average number of life-years lost by individuals dying prematurely from exposure to particulate matter is 14 years.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer each year from asthma attacks, cardiac problems, and respiratory problems associated with fine particles from power plants.”

Profiles in Cronyism and Corruption: Vice President Cheney

President Bush’s college roommate, Thomas Kuhn, is president of the trade association for the electric power industry.  He advised energy executives in May 1999 to make sure that their contributions to the Bush-Cheney campaign could be tracked to “ensure that our industry is credited…”  Rolling back New Source Review was one of the goals of the Cheney energy task force.  Former EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman reported in her book that Vice President Cheney was “particularly eager” on this issue.  She wrote, “He called me on several occasions, even tracking me down when I was on vacation in Colorado, to press his view.”

Fighting Bush Administration’s Efforts to Weaken Regulations on Air Pollution from Soot

Once again pandering to polluting industries, in December 2005, the Bush Administration announced updated public health standards for particulate air pollution, which is the technical name for soot.  Thousands of scientific studies have shown that breathing tiny particles of soot causes heart disease, asthma, and lung cancer.  Ignoring the scientific evidence and guidance from EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, the Administration issued new regulations that do little to increase the protection of human health.  The Administration also deleted references to the greater vulnerability of low-income and minority communities to health damage from soot.  Democrats have vigorously protested the Administration’s failure to tighten the standards on exposure to fine particle pollution.

Fighting Bush Administration’s Efforts to Weaken Regulations on Toxic Emissions

Once again acting at the behest of the Bush Administration’s special interest supporters, the Environmental Protection Agency is secretively drafting regulations that will allow thousands of industrial facilities to emit more toxic air pollution, including lead, benzene, asbestos, chlorine, and formaldehyde.  The draft regulations have been leaked to the public, along with a memo of protest from nine out of ten EPA regional administrators.  The EPA proposal acknowledges that some plants “may” increase the amount of pollution they emit, but EPA asserts they will not do so out of concern for public opinion.  The facilities affected by the change would no longer have to monitor and report their emissions, so the public would have no way of knowing if emissions went up.

Profiles in Cronyism and Corruption: Bill Wehrum

As Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, Bill Wehrum is dismantling the clean air regulations that he has previously fought on behalf of his private sector clients.  He has promoted new air regulations that fall short in reducing soot particles, curbing mercury emissions, and requiring old power plants to install new pollution control equipment. Now Wehrum is playing a key role in weakening air toxics regulations.  Prior to joining EPA at the beginning of the Bush Administration, Wehrum worked at the law firm Latham & Watkins, where he served clients who were fighting against EPA clean air regulations.  His clients included chemical manufacturers, electric utilities, and the pharmaceutical, pesticide and timber industries.

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi