Spurred by higher gasoline prices from two hurricanes, a U.S. House panel was expected to approve Wednesday a hastily written Republican bill that would boost refining capacity and roll back some air pollution rules.
WASHINGTON — Spurred by higher gasoline prices from two hurricanes, a U.S. House panel was expected to approve Wednesday a hastily written Republican bill that would boost refining capacity and roll back some air pollution rules.
Democrats accused Republicans of exploiting gasoline price shocks set off by hurricanes Katrina and Rita to loosen bedrock Clean Air Act protections and hand incentives to U.S. oil companies basking in record profits.
Environmental and municipal groups complained the bill would make air dirtier and threaten public health.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee met into the evening to finalize legislation that would offer U.S. refiners incentives to build the first new plant since 1976. The bill would also ease environmental rules so companies can quickly expand existing refineries to produce more gasoline.
"This entire bill is written for Exxon Mobil," said Edward Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, pointing to refinery profits that have doubled from one year ago.
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More alarming to Democrats and environmentalists, the plan would weaken part of the Clean Air Act called New Source Review that requires new equipment to cut emissions of acid rain and smog when refineries and coal-fired power plants are upgraded.
Barton's bill codifies a controversial Bush administration proposal, now frozen by a federal court, to allow aging plants to expand without triggering anti-pollution rules. The measure was the White House's "primary request" for the bill, Barton said.
"In a bill ostensibly about hurricane relief, the Bush administration's chief interest is in giving big breaks to polluters by essentially repealing" New Source Review, said Supryia Ray of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Barton's proposal also widens the original routine maintenance exemption to include all industrial sources. That would include about 20,000 chemical plants, iron and steel smelters, and pulp and paper facilities, among others.
OFFSHORE DRILLING APPROVED
Barton's plan is one component of energy legislation that House Republicans plan to debate on the House floor next week.
The House Resources Committee separately voted, 27-16, on Wednesday to finalize an energy package promoting drilling.
The Resources panel's bill would immediately lift a longtime ban on offshore natural gas drilling, despite opposition from Florida and California that drilling could foul beaches and harm tourism. It would also open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, sell 15 national parks for energy development, and offer incentives for oil shale.
An energy bill signed into law in August gave the industry $14.5 billion in long-term production incentives. Republicans acknowledge it does little to address pump prices near-term.
During the House Energy panel's meeting, it rejected a Democratic plan to punish companies that charge an "excessive" price for gasoline. The Democratic plan also sought to reopen old, mothballed refineries so they could be used in shortages.
Instead, Barton's proposal offers U.S. refiners incentives to build 2 million barrels per day of refining capacity on sites such as closed U.S. military bases and federal land.
Panel Democrats say U.S. refiners are loath to build new plants because tight supplies have boosted profits. Some companies want to expand existing plants without paying for required anti-pollution equipment, they said.
"This bill proposes a fix for a problem that simply doesn't exist," said Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat.
In an important concession to the oil industry, Barton's bill would give the Energy Department the final say to approve new refinery permits and trump any local and state objections.
Yet another provision would give the federal government power to waive state-specific gasoline additive requirements.
Donald Borut, director of the National League of Cities, called that a "back door attempt" to invalidate state laws banning fuel additive and suspected carcinogen methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).
Barton said he had no plan to allow more MTBE use, after failing to amend the recent energy bill to shield MTBE makers from product liability lawsuits.
(Additional reporting by Charles Abbott)
Source: Reuters
