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CEQ OFFICIAL HINTS AT PRE-ORDAINED DEAL ON TEXAS PIPELINE APPROVAL

A deposition of a Clinton administration Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) official hints that the administration reached a pre-ordained conclusion about whether a controversial Texas oil pipeline should be approved without a detailed environmental review as required under a settlement agreement, a source opposing the pipeline says. According to the source, the testimony of Ray Clark, a former CEQ employee who since May of 1999 has worked for a Department of Army installation that is responsible for permitting the pipeline...

EPA COULD FACE DIFFICULT TIME WEAKENING CLINTON ENVIRONMENT RULES

The Bush administration will face a difficult time should they try to weaken recently approved Clinton-era environment rules, environmental, industry and even some GOP sources say. These sources warn that possible administration strategies to weaken the rules, including agreeing to settlements in industry-sponsored litigation, offering scaled-back defenses of the rules or limiting implementation of the rules in guidance all face difficulties. EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman this month announced that the agency was approving Clinton administration rules to clamp down...

GOP MODERATES AVOID BROAD ATTACKS ON BUSH ENVIRONMENT RECORD

Republican moderates on Capitol Hill have decided to hold back on launching a broad attack on the Bush administration's environmental policy, and are instead taking a more low-key, piecemeal approach to criticizing administration decisions to void environmental policies of the Clinton administration. Moderates may also be looking to boost GOP environment credentials by joining with Democrats to reverse some of the more controversial Bush administration environmental policy decisions and restore funding to programs cut by the White House in the...

ARSENIC AT CENTER OF DEMOCRATS' ATTACK ON BUSH ENVIRONMENT RECORD

Democrats and environmentalists are using EPA's decision to delay the effective date of a new arsenic standard as the centerpiece of their attacks on the Bush Administration's environment agenda, and are hoping to use the issue to recruit moderate Republicans in battling future environmental rollbacks. Several Democratic lawmakers also want to keep EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman on the political defensive despite several Bush administration decisions to move forward with Clinton-era policies, sources say. These lawmakers plan on calling Whitman...

CONGRESS MUST RESPOND TO BUSH ENVIRONMENTAL FAILURES, LCV SAYS

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is calling on Congress to be the "last line of defense" in protecting the environment after issuing a report April 24 calling Bush's first 100 days in office an "environmental failure." LCV calls on members of Congress to act as a countervailing force against the Bush administration, and warns that Congress' decisions on the environment will weigh heavily in the 2002 elections. "[T]he 2002 elections are shaping up to be a referendum on environmental...

Lawmakers From Nevada Broaden Allegations Of Mismanagement At Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site

The Nevada congressional delegation is asking the General Accounting Office (GAO) to expand its investigation into allegations of Department of Energy (DOE) mismanagement of a proposed national nuclear waste repository, which is opposed by the lawmakers. The request was made after the DOE Inspector General issued a report last which revealed that email messages between the department and its contractor disappeared because of computer malfunction. The lawmakers have accused DOE of bias in the selection of the nuclear waste site,...

Senators Launch Effort To Protect Budget Provision To Boost Greenhouse Spending

Supporters of a Senate budget resolution provision to boost funding for climate change programs have begun a campaign to preserve the controversial language as the resolution goes to conference committee. Passage of the provision by the Senate was seen as a direct challenge to President Bush's recent decision to abandon the Kyoto climate change treaty. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) sent a letter April 27 to conferees on the budget resolution urging support for the amendment, which was introduced by the...

Illinois Lawmakers Expected To Adopt Multi-Pollutant Controls On Power Plant Emissions

Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R) is being credited with salvaging a landmark bill in the state legislature to limit multiple air pollutants from power plants. The bill had become entangled in partisan bickering over subsidies to boost the state's coal industry, but Ryan convinced lawmakers to set aside those provisions to allow the bill to move forward, sources say. Lawmakers now expect the bill to sail through the House. The Senate has unanimously approved the bill. Ryan convinced members of...

Water Quality Standards May Hamper Northwest Efforts To Boost Electricity Generation

EPA officials in the Northwest are bracing for controversy over the development of water quality standards that agency officials concede could hamper the region's efforts to boost electricity supplies. Agency sources say the anticipated standards may force hydroelectric dams to increase water flows, which would reduce power generation. The standards are being drafted following lawsuits won by environmentalists in several states that sought to speed up development of so-called total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements. TMDLs are intended to restrict...

Democrats Beat Bush In Public Confidence Over Environment

Democratic and Republican pollsters have released separate analyses on a bipartisan polling survey on the political fallout of President Bush's various policy decisions during his first 100 days in office. The survey contacted 1,000 registered voters nationwide between April 22 and April 24 and concluded that the issue of environment is crucial to determining the president's job approval rating. The survey also found that congressional Democrats fared better than Bush in public confidence about protecting the environment. View both polling...

EPA Confronts Obstacles To Recovering Superfund Costs From Bankrupt W.R. Grace

EPA is facing a long, uphill battle in its attempts to recover costs from the W.R. Grace Co. the agency incurred while investigating and cleaning up contamination at the company's Libby, MT vermiculite mining site, which is contaminated with extremely high levels of asbestos. Grace filed for bankruptcy just days after the agency filed its $10 million cost recovery suit, and the agency must get in line with the company's other creditors if a court sides with EPA. EPA must...

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Lawmakers Letter To Whitman House Lawmaker Seeks Support For Ombudsman Authorization Bill

Industry Challenges U.S. Trusteeship In Coeur d'Alene NRD Case U.S. Defends Trusteeship In Coeur d'Alene Suit

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NGA Paper Rejects DOE Call For Help DOE Seeks State Assistance For Cleanup Efficiency Colorado Governor Agrees To Join DOE Cleanup Team Lawmakers Urge Support For Senate Amendment Funding DOE Cleanups

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