Senate Committee Moves Forward on Multi-Pollutant Bill
By Shane Robinson
July 15, 2002
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on June 27 passed S. 556, the "Clean Power Act of 2002," out of committee by a 10-9 vote. Nine Democrats and Senator Lincoln Chafee (RI) voted for the bill while Republicans and Senator Max Baucus (MT) voted against the bill, citing their opposition to its cap on carbon dioxide emissions. Senators Chafee and Thomas Carper (DE) are said to be working on a compromise bill to gain broader bipartisan support.
This bill, sponsored by Committee Chair James Jeffords (VT) and Senator Joseph Lieberman (CT), is the first multi-pollutant approach addressing electric utilities to receive a vote by either house of Congress. It sets annual emissions caps for four pollutants that would apply beginning in 2008, and would allow trading of emissions credits for SOx, NOx, and CO2, but not Mercury. The bill provides for nationwide caps for NOx (~1.5 million tons), CO2 (~2 billion tons), Mercury (5 tons), and regional caps for SOx (~0.3 million tons in the West and ~2 million tons in the East).
In addition, the bill would require that by 2013 all electric generating facilities 40 years old or older achieve emissions reductions equivalent to the best available control technology applied to a new major source of the same generating capacity.
The Administration and several industry groups have called Senator Jefford's bill too costly and said that the bill's mandatory cap on carbon dioxide emissions is a danger to the economy. The Administration has proposed its Clear Skies Initiative that includes nationwide caps for NOx (2.1 million tons by 2008, 1.7 million by 2017), Mercury (26 tons by 2010, 15 tons by 2018), and SOx (4.5 million tons by 2010, 3 million tons by 2018). The Clear Skies Initiative would allow trading of Mercury emission credits and would not address CO2 emissions.
The Conference of Mayors passed at the June Madison Annual Meeting a "Clean Air and Utilities" Resolution that states that the U.S. Conference of Mayors:
encourages the Administration to enforce existing regulations and Congress to pass new legislation requiring older power plants to reduce all air emissions, focusing on results-based outcomes;
supports a comprehensive and synchronized multi-pollutant market-based program to reduce regulatory costs, maintain reliable energy for consumers, and provide certainty to the electric power sector in ways that do not compromise public health; and
encourages Congress to set national air emission caps under a multi-pollutant plan at levels strong enough to substantively assist cities in their efforts to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards by statutory guidelines.
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