Wednesday, October 18, 2000

U.S. Rep. Mac Collins' amendment to limit the power of the federal Environmental Protection Agency is making progress toward enactment, he said this week.

The amendment would stop expenditures from being forced on state and local governments by EPA regulations that the courts have already ruled are legally unenforceable, Collins said.

The Collins-Linder amendment would be added to the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and independent agencies (VA-HUD) appropriations bill.

If added, the legislation would stop the EPA from naming communities that are in non-compliance with its new pollution standards until the courts have finished ruling on legality of the new standards, but would allow the agency to continue collecting data.

Collins spokesman Doug Graham said Tuesday that versions of the measure have passed both houses of Congress and a conference version is on the floor of both houses this week.

Collins introduced the amendment, he said, because the EPA's new air pollution measurement standards are undergoing a court challenge. Its present standard measures pollution over a one-hour period, while the new standard measures air quality over an eight-hour period.

A lower court ruled against the EPA's new eight-hour standard, and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case this fall. It is expected to issue a ruling during the spring of 2001.

"If the EPA designated a community in non-compliance today, it would harm its chances to attract new investment and new jobs, and could endanger new transportation funding," Collins said. "The community would have to spend thousands of scarce dollars complying with this designation, only to find out, six months later, that the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA. That would be a huge waste, and this is why my bill simply says the EPA must wait until the court decides."

Environmental groups, such as Public Interest Research Group and Friends of the Earth, claim that the amendment will cut off pollution measurement, said Collins, who labeled the groups as "extremist." The groups have purchased advertisements in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer as well as newspapers in districts of other congressmen who supported the initial amendment.

"Kit Redmond, head of the ambient air monitoring program of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, has confirmed that testing using both the present one-hour standard and the proposed eight-hour standard will continue even if my amendment becomes law," Collins said.

Collins spokesman Graham said a key factor in whether the amendment receives final approval is the White House, which has not yet weighed in on the bill.

Environmental groups are lobbying the president, but proponents of the bill are hoping for White House support, he said.

"I spend a lot of time outdoors and, like most Georgians, value a clean environment," said Collins. "However, I believe that we have to use common sense to balance the need for a clean environment with the need for good jobs and economic growth.

"These groups claim that it is impossible to reconcile a cleaner environment with economic growth, but I disagree," Collins said. "A common sense approach allows us to pursue both goals at the same time."

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page