UPDATE - US utilities, green groups huddle on emissions
Date: 08-Oct-01
Country: USA
Author: Chris Baltimore
Democrats want to require utilities to begin making steep cuts in 2002 in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and carbon dioxide.
The Republicans and the industry prefer an emissions trading scheme to curb pollution, which would not take effect until 2007. They also oppose limits on carbon dioxide, which has been linked to global warming.
On Thursday, Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Independent who heads the Senate Environment panel, summoned industry, environmental and public health representatives to a closed-door meeting to discuss options. His legislation "will hold the power sector responsible for reducing its share of carbon emissions," Jeffords said in statement.
The marathon 9-hour session centered on cuts for each of the four pollutants, but industry and green groups remained far apart, participants said afterward.
The meeting will continue last week.
"We haven't seen any major breakthroughs yet," said Blake Early of the American Lung Association, who was at the meeting.
But some participants said they saw growing support for the view that regulatory certainty for utility emissions is good for both camps.
Compliance with proposed regulations is "not as costly as what everyone was expecting - I think that's the interpretation," said Kenneth Connolly, staff director of the committee.
SENATE DEBATE THIS WINTER
The committee aims to hold a bill-writing session on Nov. 1, and move legislation to the Senate floor in early 2002, a committee staffer said.
Jeffords emphasized that his legislation will address all four pollutants. "To be very clear, the committee will move four-pollutant legislation. Not three or three and a half," he said.
The Bush administration and Republican committee member George Voinovich of Ohio say that including carbon dioxide would cost utilities billions of dollars and hurt the already slowing U.S. economy.
Jeffords also expressed impatience toward the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to offer up its own legislation.
"We still haven't seen the EPA analysis that we requested," he said.
Sources close to the talks speculated that the two-day meeting would pressure the EPA to make its views known.
"Having a (bill) mark-up really helps," said one source, adding that the EPA must release its own plan before a bill-writing session to influence the outcome.
EPA held to its recent position. "We are planning to release a multi-emissions proposal this fall," an EPA spokesman said. "That's as specific as we can be."
EPA in July signaled it might replace current regulations with a new cap-and-trade regime for NOx, sulfur dioxide and mercury. That kind of market-based approach would allow dirty power plants to buy emission rights from cleaner plants.
The Energy Department opposes EPA's proposed cuts because they might hamper U.S. utilities from boosting electricity output - a major DOE priority, environmental sources said.
