Mike Enzi: “I come to the floor--in the waning hours of this session--to express my continuing frustration with the way that the…”

“I come to the floor--in the waning hours of this session--to express my continuing frustration with the way that the Environmental Protection Agency is handling Wyoming's environmental audit law. The troubles began last September, when the EPA delayed granting final approval of Wyoming's clean air permitting plan. Earlier this year, I joined with the other Members of Wyoming's congressional delegation in sending a letter to Administrator Carol Browner at the EPA. We suggested that it was inappropriate to withhold delegation of Clean Air Act permitting authority because of the State's environmental audit law. Administrator Browner responded with an assurance that, EPA has not taken steps to withhold further delegations of Federal programs in Wyoming as a result of the State environmental audit law. In September, the EPA announced that it had completed its review of Wyoming's audit law. It found that, The State won't need to make statutory changes to the self- audit law to retain primacy over Federal laws like the Clean Air Act. The EPA went on to say that, The law shouldn't interfere with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's efforts to gain primacy over several other Federal programs. Mr. President, in spite of Ms. Browner's assurances, there has been a very real and ongoing manipulation of States that attempt to craft sensible audit laws.”