Republicans G.A.S. Act Exploits Katrina For Gas & Oil Industry

Numerous environmental and public service groups have issued warnings on the upcoming G.A.S. Act, HR 3893, scheduled for a vote in the House on Friday. Donald J. Borut, executive director of the National League of Cities has bluntly said that "the goal of this draft legislation seems to be to pass every provision that didn’t make it into the recently-enacted energy bill."

The National Environmental Trust has said that the bill “channels taxpayer dollars to oil companies, virtually ignores conservation and drastically undercuts the Clean Air Act, eliminating public health protections that have nothing to do with gasoline or oil prices.” The most serious aspects of this act are outlined at their web site and include:

Clean Air Act Implications

Sec. 106 - Significantly weakens the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review program, allowing more than 20,000 industrial facilities to expand or upgrade in ways that increase pollution without installing modern pollution controls.
Sec. 109 - Delays existing smog cleanup deadlines in cities with some of the most persistent smog problems, prolonging unsafe levels of smog for many years.
Sec. 108 - Undermines the implementation of EPA’s upcoming rules to clean up the nation’s trucks, buses, farm equipment and other diesel engines.
Sec. 107 - Allows indefinite waiver of controls on fuel sulfur content and toxics, such as benzene, while preempting states from adopting or retaining more protective requirements during the waiver period.
Sec. 108 - Freezes the development of further clean fuels and specifically provides that no additional sulfur or toxics control requirements can be approved without an explicit "fuel supply availability" determination by EPA.

Taxpayers and Governmental Oversight Implications

Sec. 402 - Weakens the enforcement provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act by limiting penalties for price gouging to $11,000 per day.
Sec. 104 - Provides an open-ended taxpayer subsidy to cover all the costs an oil company may incur due to a delay in the initial operation of a new or upgraded oil refinery, including delays due to compliance with state or federal laws or regulations.

Public Lands Implications

Sec. 101 - Requires the President to designate sites on Federal lands, including closed military bases, that are appropriate for the siting of refineries.
Sec. 110 - Undoes a 28-year-old law that limits tanker traffic in the sensitive waters of Puget Sound removing all practical limits on the giant tankers, 600 of which already ply the Sound each year.

The Apollo Alliance, along with Sen. Cantwell and Reps. Inslee and Schakowsky, will meet with the press tomorrow and disuss the defects in the bill which they say does “nothing to address soaring gas prices and rising home heating costs since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.” The Apollo Alliance has outlined a 10-step national agenda to create energy independence by the year 2015.

1. Promote Advanced Technology & Hybrid Cars
2. Invest In More Efficient Factories
3. Encourage High Performance Building
4. Increase Use of Energy Efficient Appliances
5. Modernize Electrical Infrastructure
6. Expand Renewable Energy Development
7. Improve Transportation Options
8. Reinvest In Smart Urban Growth
9. Plan For A Hydrogen Future
10. Preserve Regulatory Protections

LINKS:
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/b...