Senate Energy Bill Sets Stage for Environmentally-Perilous House-Senate Conference

Defenders of Wildlife
Friday, 26 April 2002

Defenders of Wildlife today warned that energy legislation approved by the Senate could lead to an environmentally damaging compromise with the House, which passed its version of energy legislation last summer.

"Based on the raw materials the House and Senate conferees have to work with, we cannot see how Congress could produce the kind of energy policy that America wants, needs or deserves," said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "Senate energy legislation began as a promising vehicle for meeting our nation's energy needs but has been commandeered by special interests and severely weakened by amendments," Schlickeisen added.

A responsible energy policy should reduce consumption of oil by at least one million barrels a day, guarantee that at least 10 percent of electricity supplies come from new clean renewable energy, cut subsidies to polluting energy sources, ensure a reliable and consumer-friendly electric system, reduce pollution to our air, land and water, and safeguard the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other public lands.

Through a series of amendments, the current Senate bill has been stripped of provisions that would have significantly reduced the nation's dependence on oil, promoted clean, renewable energy or cut subsidies to dirty energy supplies. Specifically, the Senate has adopted amendments gutting proposed fuel efficiency increases, watering down provisions to promote the use of renewable energy and extending a dangerous liability limit for new nuclear power reactors. In areas including fuel efficiency, drinking water protection and hydropower, the bill actually rolls back current environmental protections. Specifically, the bill weakens current law by exempting pickup trucks from any future increases in fuel economy standards. Regarding drinking and ground water contamination, the bill effectively overturns a Circuit Court decision that upheld the EPA's authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing – a dangerous practice whereby chemical solvents are injected under high pressure into the ground to increase the yield of oil and gas wells. As for hydropower, the bill reduces or eliminates environmental considerations when licensing or relicensing hydroelectric power facilities. Without full consideration of environmental impacts and implementation of minimum controls, hydropower can kill fish, prevent fish passage, and degrade water quality.

Despite serious environmental problems, the Senate energy bill differs in a number of respects from energy legislation passed by the House in August, 2001. Most significantly, the Senate bill does not change current law and allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the nation's wildest and most important wildlife refuges. The Senate bill also includes tax provisions that place modest emphasis on conservation and renewable energy and establishes a renewable portfolio standard to promote the expanded use of clean alternatives to fossil fuels. Besides authorizing drilling in the Arctic Refuge, the House bill gives the Secretary of the Interior expanded discretion to eliminate critical protections used to safeguard wildlife and other environmental values on public lands when there is an "unwarranted denial or restriction" to an oil and gas lease; eliminates or waters down current wildlife and wildland protections by placing burdensome requirements on agencies, such as justifying "restrictions" on oil and gas leases when they differ from state laws or regulations; creates a presumption in favor of leasing rather than reflecting that public lands should be protected and managed for all of their multiple use values; and eliminates the Forest Service's ability to protect sensitive resources and values on National Forests from harmful oil and gas leasing and development.

"Perhaps the most encouraging news is that there are plenty of contentious issues facing House and Senate negotiators attempting to craft a compromise bill that Congress can approve, Defenders' Schlickeisen" stated. "In our view, the American public would be better served if Congress went back to the drawing board rather than approving flawed final legislation that undermines protection of our lands and waters while failing to significantly reduce our dependence on oil," Schlickeisen added.

For more information, or to contact Defenders of Wildlife, see their website at: www.defenders.org