[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12567-S12568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page S12567]]
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Senate
TIME TO CLEAN UP AMERICA'S COAL-FIRED POWERPLANTS
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate will soon recess until the
beginning of this Congress' second Session in January of 1998. That
provides time to develop a thoughtful proposal on one of the most
pressing environmental threats confronting the United States as a
whole, and especially the Midwest and the Northeast: namely, the rivers
of pollution that stream from the smokestacks of hundreds of old coal-
fired powerplants, especially in the Midwest.
These powerplants are collectively the source of enormous amounts of
air pollution. Mercury poisons lakes and streams, as well as the fish
that swim in them. Oxides of nitrogen not only create groundlevel ozone
that chokes almost every major America city, but are transformed into
acids that contribute to both acid rain and fine particulate matter.
Together with the fine particles formed by sulfur dioxide emissions,
they contribute to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. Finally,
carbon-rich coal adds to global warming, which has increased the
temperatures of Earth's air, oceans, and soils, while raising sea
levels and triggering meltdowns of glaciers and icecaps. If you want to
see the effects of this pollution, you need only to hike to the top of
Camel's Hump in the Green Mountains, or talk to the fishermen in
Missisquoi Bay who catch fish contaminated with mercury, or measure the
increasing acid deposition in pristine lakes within Vermont wilderness
areas.
Mr. President, none of this is necessary and eliminating these
problems need not trigger the sort of regional conflicts that
characterized the sometimes bitter ten year struggle to enact a federal
program to control acid rain. There are ways of burning coal so that it
produces only a tiny fraction of the air pollution now being emitted by
these powerplants. And, since virtually all of these powerplants are
reaching the age at which significant investment is required to keep
them on line, the nation has a unique and valuable opportunity to
address the problem.
Steps should be taken not only to prevent further degradation of our
environment, but also to ensure fairness in retail electricity
competition. When Congress passed the Clean Air Act in
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[[Page S12568]]
1970, many of the old, dirty powerplants that were expected to close
down were granted exemptions to the strict air pollution control
requirements that applied to new facilities. Yet, twenty years later,
these old plants continue to operate and enjoy a substantial, unfair
competitive economic advantage over electric generators with pollution
control technology.
If ways can be found to assure that investments are made in clean
technologies, pollution of almost every sort can be sharply reduced
and, in likelihood, so can electricity rates. Contrary to the recent
wave of doomsday advertising paid for by multi-million dollar electric
utility companies, this can be done without jeopardizing our economy.
Vermont has shown how jobs can be created through renewable energy and
energy efficient technology.
It is clear, Mr. President, that these new technologies and the
expertise in building and operating them, will be needed by every
nation in the world. If the United States can be the first to master
these new engines of the future, we can also be the first to build and
export them.
The challenge, Mr. President, is to find the proper combination of
measures. During the coming winter, I hope and intend to work with my
colleagues and others to identify those measures.
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