Political Quotes

“Thank you, Madam Chair. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, was passed to protect the public health and the environment from unsafe disposal of solid waste. It created duties reserved to the EPA and programs that could be delegated to the States. Like other environmental statutes, RCRA sets a legal standard of protectiveness for State-delegated programs. These standards are the yardstick by which it is determined whether a State's effort measures up, and they ensure our consistent level of effort and protection throughout the Nation. This approach has worked well because it prevents a race to the bottom among the States in which a State willing to have the laxest protections becomes the dumping ground for the Nation. Congress has taken this approach for 40 years. We create a Federal floor of protection and allow States to go further as necessary. H.R. 2273 turns this approach on its head by saying that each State must have a program but that program can offer as little protection as the State chooses. Well, that's essentially the status quo. The authors of this bill are attempting to model coal ash disposal on disposal of municipal solid waste. That's what they claim. In the case of municipal solid waste, however, the legal standard is that the program must protect human health and the environment from the risks associated with municipal solid waste. But under this bill, this standard does not apply to coal combustion residuals.…”