Gregg Legislation to Reduce Air Pollution
By Kim Forrest
WASHINGTON–New Hampshire’s Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is co-sponsoring legislation aimed at decreasing the emission of harmful pollutants by power plants. The bill has won the praise of New Hampshire’s attorney general but has cast Gregg as an opponent of the Bush administration’s “Clear Skies” air pollution control initiative.
Gregg co-sponsored the Clean Air Planning Act of 2003 with Sens. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and Tom Carper (D-DE). The legislation would cap the amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury that power plants can emit while giving the plants flexibility to decide how best to stay within the caps. One option would be to buy pollution “credits” from plants that are within the caps. This market-based “cap and trade” method has proven effective in dealing with acid rain.
In a statement, Gregg said that “New England and the Northeast have long suffered as the ‘tailpipe’ of the nation when it comes to air pollution and its detrimental effects on our environment. The pollution produces smog, haze and acid rain, threatening the health of those most susceptible to sickness, including the young, disabled or elderly, and greatly damaging the quality of our ecosystem.”
The cap and trade method would give companies a variety of ways to comply with the standards. For example, companies already well within the compliance rates can gain “credits” that they can sell to companies that exceed the limits.
“The net effect will be cleaner air at minimal cost to the industry,” Gregg’s statement reads.
According to Gregg, the reductions in pollution should be significant because his bill is similar to legislation enacted in New Hampshire that has resulted in fewer emissions.
“Specifically, emissions of sulfur dioxide will be reduced by 80 percent, nitrogen oxide by 69 percent and mercury by 80 percent,” Gregg said in his statement. “These reductions are aggressive, but realistic…”
His measure also is directed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions; President Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative does not include carbon dioxide in its regulations.
“Carbon dioxide is one of the leading causes of climate change, and legislation dealing with clean air must address carbon dioxide emissions,” Gregg said.
Gregg’s bill would also provide an air-quality forecasting service that would provide warnings to transportation planners, power generators and people who are sensitive to air pollution Gregg already has secured $6 million to start such a program late next year in New Hampshire.
Peter Heed, New Hampshire’s Attorney General, praised Gregg’s legislation, saying he hoped it would be a big help to Granite Staters.
“I’m very supportive of what Sen. Gregg and the other senators have done,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. “It mirrors legislation we have already in this state.” He expressed concern that carbon dioxide “has been left out of other bills. In New Hampshire, [these pollutants] have had a devastating effect on us.”
Catherine Corkery, spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Sierra Club, said that while the group is still reviewing the legislation, it is likely to support the bill.
“The New Hampshire Sierra Club has always been encouraged by the senator’s efforts,” she said. “We’re concerned that there might be holes…but we’re still trying to piece it through…. We’re definitely encouraged by [Gregg’s] interest.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
