James Oberstar: “from the perspective of the Committee on Transportation and the Infrastructure on which I serve, the Democrats on that…”

“from the perspective of the Committee on Transportation and the Infrastructure on which I serve, the Democrats on that committee, we find a number of offensive provisions littered throughout this bill that fall within the jurisdiction of our committee. I want to be very specific. Section 328 exempts the oil and gas industry from complying with the stormwater permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act of 1972 for construction purposes. This is the only construction action that would not be subject to clean water requirements should this provision prevail. Section 756(c) of the conference report allows a 250 pound increase in the weight of some heavy trucks purportedly for the purpose of providing an incentive to use a certain type of idle reduction technology. Well, we have examined this issue in great detail and with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, the increase in truck weight will inflict damage on the highway infrastructure and create a safety problem and will cost about $300 million a year in increased highway damage. The exemption is unnecessary. The industry's own figures show that idling reduction technologies pay for themselves in reduced fuel costs in about 2 years. Section 1502 provides special protection for MTBE producers from liability associated with the cleanup costs and damage caused by contamination of groundwater.”