In 2005, as Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I was pleased to author and see the enactment of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act in October 2006. I held a field hearing in Tulsa, Oklahoma in April 2005, which featured one of our witnesses today, Grove Valley Principal Debbie Straughn. Ms. Straughn established an outdoor classroom through the Partners Program. Former FWS Director Dale Hall testified along with landowners who have benefited from the program. The hearing also explored how Partners Program conservation projects were being developed alongside agriculture, ranching, and oil and gas development. The Partners Program demonstrates that conservation, oil and gas development, and agriculture are not mutually exclusive.

With all the frenzied speculation on the now-postponed climate change bill from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), many in Congress have been overlooking the chance to pass landmark legislation that could reduce pollution and provide meaningful health and environmental benefits.

That's right. We can pass bipartisan multipollutant legislation to guarantee significant reductions in mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants - while providing the regulatory certainty needed to advance cleaner, more efficient technologies.

I have worked with Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) on multipollutant legislation for years. In fact, we worked on a bill introduced by former Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) when he chaired the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in 2002.

In 2005, when I served as the committee chairman and Voinovich served as chairman of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, we tried to pass bipartisan legislation. But it died in committee.

Recognizing the need to reduce power plant emissions, the Bush administration had pressed ahead without Congress and issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule and the Clean Air Mercury Rule.

WASHINGTON - After an 11th-hour call to a key administration official who offered short-lived optimism, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe conceded late Wednesday that nothing can be to done to delay an EPA rule that some say will wreak havoc on plans to remodel or even work on homes built before 1978.

"I am not happy about it,'' the Oklahoma Republican said. "I am not optimistic now.''

The new regulation, which goes into effect Thursday, requires that every home, child-care facility and school built before 1978 be tested for lead paint by a certified contractor before renovations are performed.

If a building tests positive for lead, contractors must seal off the area and clean it with vacuum equipment while wearing safety suits.

Earlier in the day, Inhofe had met with several Tulsa homebuilders who warned of the consequences of allowing the rule to be implemented without enough classes to train workers on the new rules.

During that meeting, the senator placed a call to Cass Sunstein of the administration's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Paul Kane, executive vice president and CEO of the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa, laid out for Sunstein the group's concerns.

Kane explained the difficulty local contractors are having in getting certified, adding that only one trainer in the entire state of Oklahoma has been certified and that that person has been certified for only a few weeks.

Moreover, he told Sunstein, that person is not offering training to the public but is limiting his classes to his own organization.

Inhofe was impressed with Sunstein's responses, saying he sounded open to stepping in with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to discuss ways to delay the rule's effective date.

After more research on the various options, however, everyone seemed to come to the same conclusion - that the rule requiring contractors to be certified would take effect Thursday.

"I can't think of anything that we haven't done,'' said Inhofe, who is the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and has joined with other senators to press the matter with the EPA and the Office of Management and Budget.

"I don't want to give any false hopes," he said.

During the meeting between Inhofe and the homebuilders, Joe Robson, president of the Robson Cos., said home remodeling plays an important role in the current economic climate.

For some homebuilders, it has become their life blood, he said.

Robson also spoke of the $37,500 daily fine that will be imposed on contractors who violate the certification rule.

Ken Klein of Kleinco Properties warned that the rule could shut down the vitality of the local housing market.

(04/20/10) Owners of older homes planning renovations might have a hard time finding workers because many contractors are scrambling to comply with a new EPA rule on lead paint. The problem is that not enough trainers are available to certify all the contractors for the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations, said Ken Saltink, president of the Remodelers Council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa and head of All American Remodel. The new rules go into effect Thursday. "The EPA says there's only one trainer in the state, and he's in Oklahoma City," Saltink said. "And 90 percent of the contractors knew nothing about the regulations or the deadline." The new regulations stipulate that every home, child-care facility and school built before 1978 be tested for lead paint by a certified contractor before renovations are performed, including painting, plumbing, and window and electrical work. If a building tests positive for lead, contractors must seal off the area and clean it with vacuum equipment while wearing safety suits. Debbie Lewis, director of operations for Tulsa-area home renovation company Builderhaus, said her workers are in the process of getting certified, but their licenses won't come through until after the deadline. As a result, the company is turning down any request to work on a pre-1978 home, since violating the EPA's rule results in a $37,500 per day fine per incident. "They'll go out for people I'm sure to make examples of them, and we don't want to get caught up in that," Lewis said. EPA spokesman Dale Kemery acknowledged there is only one Oklahoma-based trainer for the certification - at the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies in Oklahoma City. However, he said 33 courses have been offered throughout the state as of Monday, mostly taught by trainers from other states.