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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16
, 2003 |
CONTACT:
David Willett
202-675-6698
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Bush Touting Plan to Weaken the Clean Air Act
Sierra Club Fact Sheet on So-Called "Clear Skies"
"Our air has been getting cleaner for the last thirty years and we should continue that progress, not weaken clean air protections, said Nat Mund, a clean air lobbyist for Sierra Club. "Americans don't want a recall of the Clean Air Act."
This week, the Bush Administration is touting a plan they say will cut air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years. But why is the Administration bragging about a plan that will actually result in more pollution than if we simply enforced the existing Clean Air Act? Who stands to benefit from placing communities at risk, particularly children and the elderly who are significantly threatened by air pollution?
Americans don’t have to settle for the Bush Administration’s plan when existing laws and existing technology mean that there's a better way.
- By the 15th year of the Bush plan: 450,000 more tons of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), one million more tons of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), and 9.5 more tons of mercury would be allowed than under strong enforcement of existing Clean Air Act programs.
- The so-called "Clear Skies" initiative expands the pollution trading system that results in some communities getting cleaner, but many communities losing out on cleaner air. The two-stage plan isn’t even fully in place for another 15 years. Even if the plan caused some net reductions in pollution, many communities would still be threatened by more pollution. Why should some local communities be left behind? And why should we wait so long?
- Mercury is a dangerous toxin that threatens people and wildlife as a pollutant from coal-fired power plants. The EPA estimates that enforcement of existing toxic air pollution protections in the Clean Air Act will limit mercury pollution to 5 tons per year by 2008. The Bush Administration’s plan weakens the limit to allow 26 tons per year by 2010 -- allowing 520 percent more mercury pollution. An EPA report released earlier this year discusses the ways pregnant women pass mercury on to their babies, causing mental retardation, but why did the Administration sit on the report for more than nine months and only release it after journalists exposed their findings?
- Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) is a major contributor to smog that is linked to asthma and lung disease. Current Clean Air Act programs will result in NOx pollution levels of about 1.25 million tons by 2010. But the Bush plan calls for loosening the cap on NOx pollution to 2.1 million tons by 2008 -- effectively allowing 68 percent more NOx pollution.
- Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) is the major contributor acid rain and soot. Clean Air Act programs reduce SO2 pollution levels to 2 million tons by 2012. The Bush Administration plan weakens protections to allow 4.5 million tons of SO2 by 2010 -- allowing a staggering 225 percent more SO2 pollution.
- Despite repeated claims during the 2000 election that he would put forth legislation that would address CO2 emissions, the Administration’s plan fails to set any limit on carbon dioxide emissions. Instead the Administration has called for a voluntary approach that will likely increase heat-trapping CO2 that causes global warming.
- The Bush plan creates a loophole exempting power plants from being held accountable to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) standards and from being required to install cleanup technology (best available retrofit technology or BART). NSR standards require new power plants and upgraded plants to comply with modern federal emissions limits. BART protects communities from persistent haze and other air quality problems by reducing the pollution emitted from antiquated power plants.
- "Clear Skies" delays the enforcement of public health standards for smog and soot until the end of 2015.
- The Bush plan restricts the power of states to call for an end to pollution from upwind sources in other states. The plan prohibits any petitions of this sort from even being implemented before 2012.
Thirty years of progress has taught us that there is a better way. That's why Sierra Club members are asking President Bush to enforce clean air laws, to hold polluters responsible for the damage they do; and to create jobs and clean up our environment by investing in modern technology, energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power to create a clean and affordable energy future.
For more information, contact David Willett at 202-675-6698 or david.willett@sierraclub.org
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