feature
What Direction for U.S.
SENATE Environmental Policy? CHARLES W. SCHMIDT
The new chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is surprising even his supporters with his moderate moves.
© 2000 American Chemical Society 2 6 8 A • JUNE 1, 2000 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & t H
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n October 1999, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPWC) suffered the loss of its long-standing chair with the untimely death of Sen. John Chafee (R-RI), a Republican senator with a reputation as one of the GOP's most liberal congressional members. Chafee's near-legendary ability to forge consensus on difficult and often contentious issues was seen as a vital asset to the committee. His successor, Sen. Robert Smith (R-NH), has many speculating on the future direction of environmental policy in the Senate, as EPWC is the most powerful environmental committee in Congress. In contrast to Chafee's moderate leanings, Smith is a hard-line conservative, generally associated with the GOP's right wing. His move into committee leadership has not been without controversy. That he became chair at all is remarkable considering his infamous break with the GOR which he accused of losing touch with its conservative base in a vindictive speech delivered on the Senate floor in July 1999. (He ultimately rejoined the party to take the EPWC job in November.) Environmental activists, wary of his conservative leanings, have urged him to carry on his predecessor's moderate legacy on issues like climate change. At the same time, industry lobbyists are expecting SmfLh to champion their own causes. Surprisingly, Smith's actions during his first few months on the job appear to be much more proenvironment than either his supporters or detractors might have predicted. For example, in a recent move that delighted environmentalists, Smith announced his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also highlighted plans designed to restore the Florida Everglades, naming it a top agenda item for the committee. Congressional staff are conceding that while Smith is certainly a strong fiscal conservative, his positions on the environment are more moderate than expected. In a symbolic gesture, one of Smith's first actions as chair was to order that a picture of Theodore Roosevelt—a quintessential American environmentalist be hung on the wall of the committee room. "We're not going to be intimidated by people who say 'we're environmentalists and you're not,'" he said during a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers in December 1999 "We are all stewards of the environment and when we allow them to say that they're environmentalists and we're not we're already on the defensive big time And as in football vou can never win if you're always on the defensive" The keen interest in the committee by environmentalists and industry officials derives from the JUNE 1, 2000 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 2 6 9 A
committee's position as a veritable point source for environmental power and influence. Established in 1977, its oversight extends to programs in five cabinetlevel departments and seven independent agencies, including EPA, the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, and others. For his part, Smith is enthusiastically planning a full agenda for the EPWC despite predictions that little can be achieved in the fractious atmosphere of an presidential election year. Committee staffers suggest that most efforts will center on air pollution control, initiatives to restore the Florida Everglades and to make it easier for private investors to remediate and improve brownfields, and legislation to stop One of Sen. groundwater contamination from the fuel addiSmith's major tive methyl ferf-butyl ether (MTBE). However, these efgoals is to limit forts may be limited by time—Smith's first comfederal control mittee meeting was not held until February, and over environmental Congress is likely to adjourn as early as October laws and transfer because of the upcoming it to businesses, election.
communities, and the
A conservative shift? As a fiscal and constitustates. tional conservative, Smith brings a new philosophy of government to the leadership of the environment committee. One of his major goals is to limit federal control over environmental laws and transfer it to businesses, communities, and the states; although how this translates into specific policy making by the EPWC remains to be seen. Another longterm goal is to place EPA under an authorizing budget that would subject it to an additional annual committee review. Smith suggests that this approach would ensure that EPA resources were spent on programs that "produce real results," rather than "boutique programs that divert resources from core statutory responsibility." The concept of an authorizing budget, which would direct EPA's budget requests to the EPWC, although applauded by some GOP lobbyists, has also been met with skepticism on both sides of the aisle. Tom Sliter, minority staff director at the EPWC, agrees that such a change could produce environmental benefits by giving authorizing committees a chance to deal with issues that might otherwise turn up as riders on appropriation bills. Riders—legislation that circumvents the usual legislative process by piggybacking on appropriation legislation—are a continuing source of outrage to activists, who see them as creating special-interest loopholes in federal environmental laws. An example is the recent attempt to waive Clean Water Act (CWA) and Surface Mining and Reclamation Act guidelines for mountaintop stripmining operations in West Virginia.
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On the other hand, Sliter warns that an authorizing budget could disrupt environmental programs by redirecting the agency's focus too often. "The regulated community has to make investments to meet environmental regulations," he said. "They want to make sure those investments are going to give them an economic return. If a standard is loosened, then the previous investment is wasted, and if it's tighter, they have to invest more. The implication is that if the standards are up for grabs every year or two, companies will simply delay compliance. In this case, the uncertainty is bad for the environment and bad economics." The current agenda The consensus among EPWC staff and lobbyists now is that only "targeted bipartisan bills" are going to make it to the floor of either chamber this year. With an eye on the upcoming elections, senior committee members suggest the EPWC will focus on bills diat earmark money for infrastructure improvements rather than on bills that curtail environmental regulations. Near the top of the agenda are the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2000) and the CWA infrastructure bills, each of which is worth billions of dollars in local improvement projects. These projects are well-known cash cows for members seeking re-election and provide candidates with tangible accomplishments they can highlight on the campaign trail. The biggest of these projects is a provision contained in WRDA 2000 known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Proposal. Worth $7.8 billion in construction and real estate contracts, this proposal is designed to restore the South Florida ecosystem and water quality in the Everglades. Smith often refers to the Florida Everglades as the "National Everglades"—a natural treasure he places on par with the Grand Canyon. He drew attention to this popular proposal when he showcased it as a piece of his environmental agenda during his first few days on the job. The goal is to restore natural water flow through the Everglades, which have endured decades of ecological harm through the imposition of flood controls, local water systems, and agriculture. "Clearly, this is an issue of high importance to him," says Elizabeth Thompson, the legislative director at Environmental Defense in Washington, DC. "Many in the environmental community welcome that interest." Says Steven Bentfield, a professional majority EPWC staff member, "Chairman Smith is going to do everything in his power to move this legislation through Congress this We have high pectations for this bill this year." EPWC staffers also predict significant activity this year on combined and sanitary sewer overflow projects. One bill, the Combined Sewer Overflow and Partnership Act, was introduced by Smith last summer while he was still an independent. This bill would provide money for the planning and construction of combined sewer overflow control facilities. Said one senior staff member with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, "Combined sewers and the combined sewer overflow
problem are a significant issue for the chairman, along with the associated problem of sanitary overflows." In various speeches, Smith has stated his belief that sewer overflows are essentially local problems that should be resolved by local environmental managers. Along these lines, he decries federal laws that mandate spending to fix combined sewer overflow problems when other, higher-priority environmental problems might be better served with scarce federal dollars. Forecasting a focus on air Committee staffers say there will be considerable activity in the arena of air pollution legislation. Smith's own views on air pollution control are perhaps less precautionary than Chafee's were. On climate change, his position is in line with that of most other GOP conservatives: He opposes the principles of the Kyoto Protocol, which direct the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, because of exemptions for developing nations like China, India, Korea, and Mexico. These exemptions, he says, force the United States to go it alone in emissions reductions, which stifles the economy and relinquishes the country's competitive edge in the global market. This does not imply that he discounts global warming as a potential threat, however. Smith has used the issue to illustrate the need for improved science and risk assessment in environmental policy. During a December speech to the National Association of Manufacturers, he said, "Let's challenge them to bring the science out. But just because we don't know [if] we have solid science on the global warming issue, that doesn't mean we don't have a problem. There may be. So let's keep an open mind about it." Stakeholders are curiously watching Smith's action on air legislation. Not only is he a conservative senator heading a powerful environmental committee, he also represents a New England state directly in the path of industrial pollutants arriving from the South and Midwest. The ongoing problem of westto-east ozone pollution flows became a big issue in early November, when EPA filed seven lawsuits against electric utility companies in the Midwest and South, accused of failing to follow new source review rules under the Clean Air Act (CAA). These rules direct industries to upgrade pollution controls when they modernize their operations. A clean air subcommittee hearing WAs
held on the issue in February, but according to Bentfield, it is not likely that the committee will act o n finy legislation related to the lawsuits. Chafee had been working on legislation late last fall to provide early reduction credits to electric utilities that voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions below specified levels. Smith has said that he would like to honor commitments made by Chafee and plans to look closely at the idea of providing early reduction credits, which he described as "proactive", and consistent with his "philosophical approach to things". A more immediate priority, however, is drafting an incentivebased utility emissions reduction bill. Bentfield describes the utility legislation as "in its infancy" and says
that preliminary congressional staff-level discussions have focused in part on the review standards for new emissions sources driving EPA's legal actions against electric utilities. Christopher Miller, a professional EPWC Democratic staff member, suggests the bill may contain provisions for voluntary emissions reductions over a 10-year period in exchange for relief from review requirements and performance standards for new emission sources "This might allow us to make some headway toward greenhouse gas emissions targets established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Cli mate Change, he said optimistically.
Sen. John Chafee (R-RI), respected by members from both sides of the aisle, put environmental protection above partisan politics.
Superfund reform is dead Although Smith took over with high hopes for changing the Superfund program, the word on Capitol Hill is that reforming SuSen. Robert Smith (R-NH) is expected to take perfund—a b a t t l e a consensus-oriented approach on most isthat is perpetually sues when pursuing legislative changes. hung up on liability and natural resource damage issues—is probably dead for the year. In contrast to bills that dole out money for local infrastructure, crafting new Superfund legislation involves pure regulation and damage assessment, provisions which are more controversial than the 106th Congress can bear during an election year. As a prior chair of the Superfund Subcommittee, Smith's views on the issue are well developed: He flatly opposes retroactive liability, a provision that holds companies liable for cleaning up releases that were legal at the time, and for several VG3.TS he tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation that would repeal it. He favors fair-share allocation, which is an approach for determining? a. company's cleanup liability without litigation Smith also says he will resist attempts to break up the law to pass piecemeal legislation that reforms only a small part of the Superfund program. But he has said he would like to move a small brownfields bill that would make it easier for investors to develop JUNE 1, 2000/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS " 2 7 1
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abandoned industrial sites. Sliter says that unlike the more disputed elements of Superfund legislation, agreement on brownfields is widespread on both sides of the aisle.
Hope for a bipartisan future During the remainder of the session, the EPWC will be busy with many other issues such as reforming the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and considering changing the CAA provision mandating the use of oxygen additives such as MTBE. The additive, once hailed as the key to cleaner-burning fuel, has emerged as among the most widespread groundwater contaminants in the country. In March, EPA Administrator Carol Browner outlined a three-part legislative framework for phasing out MTBE and encouraging refiners to replace it with ethanol. EPA's hands are tied; the agency cannot quickly phase out MTBE until Congress amends the CAA to allow it. Still, it will be hard for Congress to reach a consensus on MTBE. Smith said he supports EPA's goal, but that he disagrees with its proposal to replace the existing oxygenate requirement with a renewable fuel standard for all gasoline. In a statement released on March 20 Smith said "The issue of renewable fuels has nothing to do with eliminating MTBE from our drinking water and I am not convinced we should replace one mandate with another It is critical that this issue not distract us from our ultimate pnal of providing safe drinking water to our rnmmunities " In February the EPWC business m p p t i n g u n H f r f^Viair ' s m i t h ctrtd a p r o r d i n g to ^sliter
adopted several bills with bipartisan spirit. Senator Max Baucus (D-MO), the senior Democrat on the committee, expressed his desire to work with Smith to achieve bipartisan progress on legislation. Whether that spirit will prevail when the issues become more contentious will be one test of Smith's leadership. Whereas the passing of the torch from Chafee to Smith marks a turning point for the EPWC, observers suggest that major changes in the committee's orientation, at least in the short term, are unlikely. Many of Chafee's former staffers have opted to keep their jobs and work with the new chair on the challenges that lie ahead. One such individual, who described Chafee as "the reason he came to Washington in the first place," says he's been "pleasantly surprised" by Smith's first few months on the job. The conventional wisdom holds that despite Smith's confrontational reputation and hard-line conservative views as chair, he'll be looking for consensus and common ground. The expectation is that he'll be reaching out for suDoort where he can get it Nevertheless Smith's goal to transfer increasing power to the states to implement environmental laws and his desire to place EPA under an authorizing budget repa significant divergence in the orientation of the committee leadershiD How this change in phicommittee over the long run remains to be seen. Charles W. Schmidt is a freelance writer based in Portland, ME.
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