February 04, 2005

In this issue:

» ‘CLEAR SKIES’ INTRODUCED IN SENATE; HEARINGS HELD
» EPA INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT CHALLENGES BUSH MERCURY PLAN
» RICE PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR LAW OF SEA AS OPPONENTS AIR CONCERNS
» DOVER, PA SCIENCE TEACHERS WANT NO PART OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN
» EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES EXPORT BAN ON MERCURY BY 2011

‘CLEAR SKIES’ INTRODUCED IN SENATE; HEARINGS HELD

Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) and Senate EPW Clean Air and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman George Voinovich (R-OH) reintroduced the Clear Skies bill with only minor technical changes compared with its most recent version from the 108th Congress.

But because Clear Skies does not address power plant emissions of carbon dioxide -- and also due to the regulatory relief it provides the electric utility industry -- the administration's bill appears as if it will gain little traction in the Senate. A 9-9 tie vote in committee is anticipated should it be offered in its current form, according to several key members of the EPW panel who in recent hearings have stated their positions against Clear Skies.

At the most recent hearing, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) echoed all EPW Committee Democrats in criticizing Clear Skies for its language that she said dismantles the existing Clean Air Act. "It's worse than doing nothing," she said. The bill was also criticized at the hearing for its creation of a trading program for mercury emissions.

Inhofe, Voinovich and the administration are working with limited time to pass into law the new amendments to the Clean Air Act, as the EPA is poised to issue a final regulation by mid-March known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) that sets Clear Skies-like limits on SO2 and NOx emissions for power plants. Clear Skies' supporters on Capitol Hill contend a finished CAIR would make it more difficult to get other lawmakers' attention focused on the issue.

Voinovich has threatened to abandon the issue if Democrats block the bill by insisting that it include climate change provisions. He said he would table the Clear Skies initiative and alternative measures if lawmakers cannot reach agreement in six months. Voinovich has said he would not endorse a deal that included mandatory carbon dioxide emission caps for the electric utility sector.

EPA INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT CHALLENGES BUSH MERCURY PLAN

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Inspector General charged that the agency ignored scientific evidence and agency protocols in order to set limits on mercury pollution that would line up with the Bush administration's free-market approaches to power plant pollution.

Staff at the EPA were instructed by administrators to set modest limits on mercury pollution, and then had to work backward from the predetermined goal to justify the proposal, according to a report by Inspector General Nikki Tinsley.

The report, citing anonymous agency staff members and internal e-mail messages, said the technological and scientific analysis by the agency was "compromised" to keep cleanup costs down for the utility industry.

The proposal in contention was issued by the agency in December 2003 to clamp down on pollution by mercury, which also occurs naturally in the environment. Tinsley called for an "unbiased" restructuring of the plan, even if it meant delaying the rule beyond next month, which is when it is scheduled to be finalized.

Agency officials disputed her charges, claiming that Tinsley did not understand the science and limitations of mercury control.

The agency's plan made clear that the EPA preferred to regulate mercury in a manner similar to the proposals in President Bush's "Clear Skies" legislative initiative. This cap-and-trade approach calls for a system whereby polluters must meet collective pollution-control targets but can trade credits so that not all plants must meet the same standard. It aims for overall reductions in mercury of about 29 percent by 2010, and a total reduction of 70 percent by 2018.

The only alternative to the plan was the more conventional approach to pollutants -- a cap on the pollution emitted at every plant. This proposal called on power plants to reduce mercury emissions from about 48 tons a year to 34 tons by 2008 -- a reduction of about 25 percent.

The IG's report criticized both ideas. It said the free-market approach did not fully account for "hot spots" -- areas that could end up with higher levels of pollutants under the cap-and-trade system -- and several specific health concerns, including the impact on Native American tribes.

The 25 percent target in the other option was smaller than it should have been, the report said, and was obtained only after scientists were given the number and told to find ways to justify it.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest remaining domestic source of mercury emissions in the United States, according to agency figures, although the agency believes that factories and utilities in Asia, which emit more than 1,000 tons of mercury annually, contribute significantly to the mercury that enters the food chain in the United States. Domestic coal-fired power plants emitted 48 of the 113.2 million tons produced in the United States in 1999.

RICE PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR LAW OF SEA AS OPPONENTS AIR CONCERNS

The Bush administration continues to voice support for ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, butting heads with conservatives in the Senate who stymied the treaty's progress during the 108th Congress.

During her confirmation hearings to become Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice reiterated the administration's support for the treaty. "We very much want to see it go into force," she said.

The debate over the treaty features the unusual pairing of the administration and environmentalists, with both arguing ratification is necessary to protect U.S. shipping, environmental and deep sea mining interests.

The wide-ranging measure provides for a comprehensive framework of ocean management and has been described by many as a "constitution for the oceans." It delineates offshore jurisdictions, including a 200-mile exclusive economic zone that countries can manage at their discretion, and outlines a comprehensive marine protection program with requirements for marine environmental assessments and enforcement of species protection measures. It would allow countries to apply to extract natural resources outside the 200-mile limit.

Conservatives in the Senate, led by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK), are wary of the treaty because they say it would cede U.S. authority over safe passage rights for the U.S. Navy and allow the levying of taxes on U.S. offshore oil, gas and mineral development. Inhofe has also raised the question of whether the Law of the Sea could regulate U.S. naval activities related to marine mammals and sonar, for example.

The Foreign Relations Committee unanimously adopted the treaty last year, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) did not schedule it for a floor vote. Because of Senate procedures, the committee must approve the treaty once again before it can be considered by the full chamber.

DOVER, PA SCIENCE TEACHERS WANT NO PART OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Controversy continues to surround a school board decision in Dover, Pennsylvania requiring biology teachers to teach the concept of ‘Intelligent Design’, the idea that the complexity of life is caused by the action of an intelligent agent. The board’s statement (www.dover.k12.pa.us/doversd/site/default.asp) officially puts intelligent design into an U.S. public school curriculum for the first time. The statement also bars scientific discussion in the classroom of the origin of life on Earth.

The science faculty at Dover High School united in opposition and requested that they be excused from delivering the mandatory missive on intelligent design. In a letter to Dover School Superintendent Richard Nilsen, they stated unequivocally that “Intelligent design is not science”, and argued that reading the four-paragraph statement would force them to “knowingly and intentionally misrepresent subject matter or curriculum.”

Nilsen acquiesced. He then visited all ninth-grade biology classes at the high school and read the statement—without taking any questions afterward. This prompted a biology teacher to walk out after 12 years at Dover High School. Other Dover science teachers say a cloud still hangs over their heads as a result.

A group of Dover-area parents have asked a U.S. District Court to declare the school board’s statement unconstitutional. A trial is scheduled for September.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES EXPORT BAN ON MERCURY BY 2011

The European Commission has proposed phasing out mercury exports by 2011 as part of an effort to reduce emissions. The E.U. plan potentially sets up a confrontation with the United States at the upcoming U.N. Environment Programme meeting on the global mercury trade. The United States has not submitted its official position on how to proceed with reducing mercury emissions and trading, but government officials and environmentalists say the U.S. proposal would rely mainly on voluntary public-private partnerships rather than new regulations.

The European Union is the world's largest exporter of mercury, accounting for about 1,000 tons of the world's supply of 3,600 tons. The commission said Monday that global demand for mercury could be reduced to 1,000 tons by 2020 if steps are taken now.

The commission recommendation calls for the European Union to cooperate with other countries to control the trade in mercury as well as its emissions and use in manufacturing and mining. Ultimately, the commission says, a global agreement may be needed to phase out mercury production, just as the Montreal Protocol has done on substances that deplete the earth's ozone layer.

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Sources: Environment & Energy Daily; Greenwire; New York Times; Science; Washington Post

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