INSIDE CONGRESS
DIRTY LITTLE PLAN
The dirty little plan that the Administration calls "clear skies" has been
introduced in both houses of Congress this week. As we've indicated
numerous times in past Insiders, the plan would allow for more pollution
over a longer period of time than the current Clean Air Act. Sen. Joe
Lieberman has vowed to filibuster the legislation unless stricter
standards are put into place and carbon dioxide--the main contributor to
global climate change--is included as one of the regulated pollutants.
Lieberman earlier introduced legislation that would require industry to
control CO2 output, and has signed on to Sen. Jeffords' Clean Power Act
which offers more strict pollution regulations than the Administration's
plan.

Read more about the introduction of the dirty little plan:
http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/news/2003/03/03/news_32423.asp


A CLEAN SUIT
Monday marked a regulation regression as the Administration's watered-down
New Source Review regulations went into effect--but not without a fight.
California, Illinois, and Wisconsin have joined a suit brought by 10
Northeastern states to battle the Administration's weakened rule, bringing
the total number of plaintiffs to a lucky 13. The suit has found friends
in the Senate who plan weigh in on the case. "These Clean Air Act changes
are harmful to our environment, to our health, and to the ability of our
states to protect the quality of our air and they go directly against the
intent of Congress," said New York's Hillary Clinton, one of 9 Senators
signing on to the brief. The states aren't the only ones to get in on the
action. A coalition of environmental and public health groups also joined
in on the legal fun, filing their own lawsuit. Under the revised NSR rule,
industries can avoid upgrading older facilities, allowing them to continue
spewing out pollution without installing modern pollution controls.

Read more about the NSR suit in our Newsroom:
http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/news/2003/02/28/news_32424.asp


Erin E. Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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www.iowa.sierraclub.org
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