Graham Climbs Aboard Climate Change Bandwagon

By Ravi Bhatia - Talk Radio News Service

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has teamed up with Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to find common ground on creating bipartisan climate change legislation, with hopes of making progress before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month.

“The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead,” Graham said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Those countries who follow will pay a price. those countries who lead in creating a new green economy for the world will make money.”

Graham and Kerry wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times published on Oct. 11 that highlighted some of the goals of the legislation, which include acknowledging that climate change is real, investing in wind, solar and nuclear energy and breaking U.S dependence on foreign oil.

Republicans boycotted the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee markups of the Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act on Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to urge the committee to submit the legislation to the Environmental Protection Agency for economic analysis. Ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was the lone Republican to attend Wednesday’s meeting, although he departed after only 15 minutes.

“I do believe that all of the cars we have on the road and the trucks and the energy we use that produces carbon daily is not a good thing for the planet,” Graham said. “But if environmental policy is not good business policy you’ll never get 60 votes.”

According to Lieberman, the stakes are “too high” to wait on drafting climate change legislation.

“We will be held accountable by history unless we make every effort to find common ground,” he said.

Republicans Boycott Climate Change Markup

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Republican Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee Tuesday are boycotting the first session of the committee’s markup of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, or Kerry-Boxer bill, in an effort to urge the committee to submit the legislation to the Environmental Protection Agency for economic analysis.

Democrats on the committee expressed their displeasure with the absence of the Republican members, with Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) dubbing the missing Republican members as being “AWOL."

"Frankly, I’m shocked these Republicans have evaded this markup,” Lautenberg said.

The only Republican Senator who appeared with the committee was Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio). The Senator spoke as a "mock spokesman," as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) put it, explaining that he, along with his Republican colleagues, are ready to work with the committee and the EPA in a bipartisan fashion under proper circumstances.

“As the leader of this committee, I hope you will make the right decision, for the sake of my constituents, for the sake of bipartisanship and for the future of this country,” Voinovich told Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

Voinovich stressed the importance of putting the bill through a full economic evaluation with the EPA before the markup process continues.

“While I believe that S.1733 will likely move forward with policies that I oppose, I can’t imagine why we would move ahead without the best information possible from the agency that will be charged with implementing the legislation,” said Voinovich.

At the close of Voinovich’s remarks, in a sign of bipartisanship, Voinovich shook hands with Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and offered to work with the majority party through the markup process.

Boxer reiterated throughout the markup that Republicans will be more than welcome to join the committee later today and through the rest of the process.

"The door will be open, and I encourage the Republican members to join us at work to get the job done," said Boxer

The committee will stop the markup at 2:30 to allow testimony to be heard from EPA officials.

Post-Recess: Senate Takes Their Turn On Energy/Climate Discussion

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The energy and climate debate is making its way to the Senate, just two legislative days after the House passed the Waxman-Markey energy bill. The Committee on Environment and Public Works heard from White House and other government officials Tuesday. They highlighted the importance of making the U.S. a leader in the clean energy market, reducing the effects of global warming, and creating new jobs in the process.

“Clean energy is to this decade, and the next, what the Space Race was to the 1950s and ‘60s. America is behind,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “American businesses need strong incentives and investments now in order for this nation to lead the twenty-first century global economy.”

Other officials present included: Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Chu said that he applauds the House for passing the clean energy bill and said he looks forward to working with the Senate to pass “comprehensive energy legislation.” He also noted that denial of the climate change problem will not change the outcome but comprehensive legislation that caps and then reduces carbon emissions will.

Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said, “I expect you will hear fierce words of doubt and fear and worse from the other side of the aisle regarding our legislative efforts to move forward with clean energy jobs legislation. This is consistent with a pattern of “No we can’t.” I believe this Committee, when the votes are eventually taken on our bill, will reflect our President’s attitude, which is “Yes, we can, and yes, we will.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) agreed that the bill will pass through their committee but he does not believe it will pass on the Senate floor. He said the Senators will have more time to review the many points of the legislation than House members did prior to their June 25 vote.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) also testified Tuesday and stressed the importance of informing the public about the facts of energy policy.

“The gigantic effect of energy policy on American life means Congress should work particularly hard to ensure Americans know the facts about the policies Congress is considering. To the contrary, the House of Representatives added more than 300 pages of its 1200 page energy bill a few hours before it was brought to the floor and passed. That is just the opposite,” said the Governor.

Lake-Destroying Mining Operation OK, High Court Rules

The Supreme Court today blessed a gold mining operation in Alaska that is virtually guaranteed to kill all the wildlife in a nearby lake — although the mining company promises it will later "reclaim" the lake, filling it with organic material to make it an even better wildlife habitat.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had already approved the project, which was being disputed by a coalition of Alaskan environmental groups. In upholding the agencies' approval, the Court upheld its familiar rule that federal agencies are entitled to deference.

The case stemmed out of a proposal by Couer Alaska to reopen the Kensington Gold Mine, near Juneau, which had been closed since 1928. Couer hoped to make the mine profitable by using a technique called "froth flotation" to pull gold-bearing minerals to the top of a tank of roiling water. Couer would then dispose of the crushed rock and water slurry in the Lower Slate Lake, three miles away in the Tongass National Forest. The slurry would almost completely fill the 23-acre lake, currently 51 feet deep at its maximum, transforming it into a 60-acre lake about one foot deep. In the process, all the fish and fauna in the lake would die.

The alternative, Coeur argued, was to place the slurry on nearby wetlands, creating a pile that would rise twice as high and cover three times the area of the Pentagon. This would permanently destroy dozens of acres of wetlands.

Couer needed federal approval before it could proceed with its plan. Two separate provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) seemed to give authority over the discharge of slurry to both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction over the creation of wetlands, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for monitoring levels of waste in the water.

The Army Corps approved the gold mining plan, finding it was the "least environmentally damaging" way to dispose of the slurry, and that the damage would only be temporary, since in the future the reclaimed lake will be an even better wildlife habitat. The EPA declined to veto the Corps permit.

The permit was challenged by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC), a coalition of 12 Alaskan environmental groups. According to SEACC, the Army Corps did not have the authority to approve the mining operation because a section of the CWA forbids even tiny solid waste discharges -- and that includes the slurry discharge, 30% of which is solid waste. The company and the federal government argued that another section of the CWA grants the Army Corps blanket authority to permit the discharge of the slurry.

In light of the ambiguities in the CWA, the Court looked to the agencies' interpretation -- and found that the agencies had resolved the problem "in a reasonable and coherent way." An internal EPA memo explained that the prohibition on solid waste discharge applies not to the initial discharge of slurry into the lake, but to any further discharge into downstream waters.

The Army Corps had the sole authority to grant the permit, the Court ruled, because the slurry would fall under the regulations for "fill material," which is solely under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps, not the EPA.

Three justices dissented, arguing that the use of waters as "settling ponds" for harmful mining waste runs "antithetical to the text, structure and purpose of the Clean Water Act."

The case was Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (07-984/07-990).

Dodd Proposes Partnership To Promote Green Initiatives

By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) held a hearing Tuesday to propose the Sustainable Communities Partnership. This partnership includes Secretary of Transportation (DOT), Ray LaHood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The objective of the new alliance will be to publicize efforts to improve affordable housing, promote efficient and low cost transportation options, and to protect the environment during these changes. A $150 million dollar sustainable communities initiative will help fund the partnership.

“As the Chairman said, we need to synchronize climate change, energy, community development, housing and transportation policy in the most comprehensive way possible,” said Secretary Donovan. “Creating an office of sustainable housing and communities inside HUD to serve as a single point of contact with other federal agencies is the best way we can achieve that goal.”

The committee also stated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide momentum with the $1.5 billion discretionary Tiger Grant program. This program will fund the Transportation Act that will promote sustainability and provide better transportation in rural and urban communities around the country.

The proposed program details six principles that will serve as the base for the agencies to work together. These include producing supplementary transportation options, advancing sustainable and affordable housing, increasing economic opportunities, revitalizing current communities, organizing funding and policies and enriching all communities.