ENVIRONMENTAL CONCESSIONS HELP PAVE WAY FOR ENERGY BILL PASSAGE

A House-Senate conference committee decision to omit or soften a number of controversial environmental provisions in a final energy bill has helped to pave the way for passage, after Congress struggled for almost four years to adopt a national energy policy, according to congressional sources and observers. Key last-minute revisions include rejection of a liability protection for producers of the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), removal of language that would have allowed EPA to extend attainment deadlines for...