For Immediate Release
July 30, 2002

Contact:
David Willett, 202-675-6698


    Sierra Club Denounces Bill Touting Administration Pollution Plan
         Urges Members of Congress to Oppose Irresponsible Plan

Washington, DC: The Sierra Club denounced a bill introduced to enact
President Bush's ineffective plan to deal with air pollution.  The Sierra
Club is urging Americans to call their members of Congress and ask them to
oppose the bill, which will weaken the Clean Air Act and lead to more air
pollution that causes asthma, acid rain and global warming.

"This bill hurts families, allows more air pollution and weakens the Clean
Air Act -- it benefits only irresponsible, polluting corporations.  It
won't help communities protect their families and the planet from air
pollution," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club.
"Americans want to hold polluting companies accountable for dirty air and
to strengthen protections against the pollution that causes asthma, acid
rain, and global warming.  Americans breathe cleaner air today than they
did 30 years ago because the Clean Air Act cracked down on polluters.  We
need to strengthen this safeguard, not dismantle it."

The existing Clean Air Act, including  protections that make older
factories install modern technology when they increase their pollution,
will result in cleaner air than the Administration's plan as embodied in
this bill. The bill introduced today in the House and Senate allows more
smog-forming nitrogen oxide and potentially three times as much toxic
mercury than current law.  Current Clean Air Act provisions achieve greater
air pollution reductions , while also protecting local communities.
Today's bill won't do nearly enough to cut down on air and global warming
pollution.  In fact, the plan could increase the use of dirty coal, which
is a main source of smog and asthma-causing pollution.

"Our families will breathe cleaner air if we simply enforce existing laws,
rather than replace our good clean air protections with this weaker
scheme," said Pope.

America can have cleaner air faster by not weakening current laws and by
supporting the Clean Power Act which was just approved by a key Senate
environmental committee.  The Clean Power Act [S. 556], would reduce levels
of the four major pollutants: nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon
dioxide and mercury.  Nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide will be reduced by
75 percent from 2000 levels, and mercury by 90 percent. Carbon dioxide is
capped at 1990 levels.  All these new levels must be achieved by 2008. The
legislation also includes a "birthday" provision, which requires power
plants to install modern pollution control equipment by their 40th year of
operation, closing the much maligned "grandfather" loophole.  The most
critical feature of this legislation is that, rather than seeking to
eliminate existing protections, it reduces pollution from power plants as
an additional protection.

"The irresponsible Bush Administration plan simply won't do the job,"
continued Pope. "The Administration's plan fails to curb carbon dioxide,
the chief global warming pollutant.  This ill-advised scheme also falls far
short of adequately protecting people's health and the environment from the
air pollution that cause lung diseases like asthma and lung cancer and
cause acid rain.  The plan leaves local communities at risk to serious
pollution in their backyard."

The Sierra Club urges people across the country to call their members of
Congress and ask them to oppose this irresponsible piece of legislation and
instead support Senator Jeffords' Clean Power Act.


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Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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