In his 2003 State of the Union address,
President Bush touted a plan that mandates a 70 percent cut in 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 then 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 only a 70
percent cut in air pollution when existing laws and existing technology mean
that we can do better.
·
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 26 tons per
year by 2010 – allowing 520 percent more mercury pollution. A new EPA report
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.
·
By the 15th year of the
Bush plan: 450,000 more tons of NOx, one million more tons of SO2, and 9.5 more
tons of mercury would be allowed than under strong enforcement of existing
Clean Air Act programs.
·
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.
The Word On The Street
Strengthening and enforcing the Clean Air Act is the best way to ensure that
the air we breathe is clean and healthy, but you don't have to take our word
for it. These are just a few of the many editorials recently published in
newspapers across the nation, editorials which express concern over President
Bush's "Clear Skies" plan and the Administration's new rules on New
Source Review.