Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, subsection 3(b) creates a loophole in the Clean Air Act that allows new facilities to meet old air quality standards. This means more pollution will enter the air, and it will be harder to clean up. When one facility is allowed to pollute more, other facilities in the area will have to invest more to reduce their emissions. That is not fair. That is not good for the economy. This loophole harms public health, burdens existing facilities, and creates regulatory uncertainty. If one is unwilling to remove the loophole from the bill entirely, then we should at the very least give State and local permitting authorities the opportunity to opt out, and that is what this amendment does. We know States have concerns about this provision. We heard strong concerns from the State of Delaware at the hearing on this bill. In my own State of California, the California Air Resources Board wrote to the committee last week to express their serious concerns about this legislation, and this provision in particular. CARB wrote that ``the provisions proposed in this bill would not increase efficiency, would result in additional delays in permitting, and would pose increased public health risks.'' They, in other words, made two key points. First of all, CARB explained that States don't need EPA guidance to issue permits under a new air quality standard. They said, ``For decades, permitting authorities have successfully implemented their programs in response to every new standard U.S.…”