The Bush Air Pollution Plan in Congress:
Now Just A Gift to Big Polluters

Now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its new rules to reduce pollution from electric power plants, why should Congress act on the issue? 

The only reason would be to cut new breaks for big power companies.  And, in fact, that’s all that’s left of the Bush Air Pollution plan, which the Administration misleadingly calls the “clear skies initiative.”

Consider this: the Bush EPA has already set pollution limits – albeit short of what’s needed to fully protect people’s health – for mercury, smog and soot particles from power plants.  The Bush plan in Congress includes nearly the same pollution limits, meaning the bill does close to nothing to reduce pollution.

The Bush plan does, however, include extensive industry-written rollbacks that would leave the public more exposed to pollution problems.  For example, among its many weakening changes to the Clean Air Act, the Bush plan (S. 131, as amended in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee) would:

• Postpone dates for meeting public health standards for smog and soot;
• Allow power plants to trade toxic mercury “credits;”
• Block states from taking action to crack down on pollution from other states;
• Eliminate protections for local communities;
• Eliminate safeguards for national parks and wilderness areas; and
• Repeal the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review program, which requires the oldest and dirtiest power plants to meet modern pollution standards.

All of these are industry-sought changes. All would weaken the Clean Air Act.  All would harm public health.

For more information, contact:
Frank O’Donnell, Clean Air Watch, 302-2065
Emily Figdor, U.S. PIRG, 546-9707