Not So Clear Skies Ahead

Bob Whitson (Howling at a Waning Moon) has been actively following the saga of Clear Skies legislation as it makes its way through Congress. It seems to be struggling. The bill enabling Clear Skies has been delayed in committee, amended heavily (to the point that a utility lobbyist characterized it as considerably to the left of the original proposal), and the Bush Administration’s unwillingness to act on carbon dioxide emissions could derail the legislation.

Here’s an idea of the growing sense of desperation among the sponsors of Clear Skies: Sen. James Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where the Clear Skies bill currently resides, has directed two national organizations that oppose Clear Skies to turn over their financial and tax records to the Senate.

The two groups are the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA), which represents 48 state air pollution control agencies, and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO), which represents more than 165 local agencies. The STAPPA/ALAPCO web site can be found here. The request for financial records comes on the heels of testimony from these groups, which stated that Clear Skies “fails on every one of our associations' core principals," was "far too lenient" on polluters and would undermine "states' abilities to protect air quality."

After the testimony, in a letter with follow-up questions, Inhofe included a request for financial statements, membership lists and tax returns for the last six years for both groups. Reportedly, the Senate committee asked for the information because of long-standing concerns about the decision-making process of the state air pollution group, and was pursuing those questions as part of its oversight responsibility.

The majority staff director for the committee, Andrew Wheeler, said the request for the groups' documents did not stem from their criticism of the legislation. He said the panel wanted to determine whether the groups represented only regulators' views or whether they also were subsidized by outside interests, including environmentalists or foundations. The funding, Wheeler said, "goes to who they're speaking for."

We can’t have environmentalist influence in the legislative process. Industry-funded, right-wing think tank influence is another matter, though.

"It has nothing to do with 'Clear Skies,' " says Mr. Wheeler. "If we wanted to intimidate them, we would have done it before they testified, not after."

Intimidation and the U.S. Senate are two concepts that wouldn’t seem to go together. But these are different times. Nice organizations you got here. Be a shame if something happened to them, know what I mean? MyDD eloquently expresses the outrage about the intimidation part.

The story can also be found in the LA Times. Revere over at Effect Measure also beat me to the punch on this story.