[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 17 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S491-S492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. 
        Collins, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Gregg, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Graham, 
        Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Lieberman, and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 2995. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to establish a national 
uniform multiple air pollutant regulatory program for the electric 
generating sector; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today Senator Carper and I have joined 
with Senators Klobuchar, Collins, Gregg, Kaufman, Graham, Feinstein, 
Shaheen, Schumer, Lieberman, and Snowe to introduce the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 2010.
  This bill is about clean air and the effect of sulfur dioxide, 
nitrogen oxides, and mercury emissions of coal-fired power plants on 
health, jobs, and tourism. This bill does not address carbon emissions.
  To me the most important aspect of this bill is that for the very 
first time it puts into federal law requirements that we cut mercury 
emissions by 90 percent from coal plants, which produce 50 percent of 
our electricity today.
  This bill will reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury 
emissions from power plants by directing EPA to cut mercury emissions 
at least 90 percent through the best available technology and 
strengthening national limits on emissions of sulfur dioxide and 
nitrogen oxides from power plants with new trading systems that will 
enable cost-effective reductions of these two pollutants.
  For Tennesseans this is a bill about our health, it is about tourism 
in our State and it is about our jobs.
  400,000 Tennesseans have asthma that is affected by the dirty air in 
our state. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can trigger asthma 
attacks and cause chronic lung problems. 400,000 Tennesseans with 
asthma are at a daily risk due to poor air quality.
  The more we learn about mercury the more we understand that it gets 
in our food supply, it gets in our water supply, some of it comes from 
our coal plants and it especially affects women and children. 
Nationwide, EPA estimates this bill will save more than 215,000 lives 
and more than $2 trillion in health care costs by 2025.
  In our State, we are privileged to have the most visited national 
park in America, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park--we are 
intensely proud of it. But we want the 10 million tourists who come 
there every year to see the blue haze that the Cherokee Indians used to 
sing about, not the smog that is produced by dirty air blowing into our 
State and some of the dirty air that we produce.
  Finally we have become an automobile State. When auto parts suppliers 
move to Tennessee and want to locate near the Nissan plant or near the 
Volkswagen plant, one of the first things they have to do is to get a 
clean air permit. Our State simply cannot clean up our air all by 
ourselves without strong national standards to require the rest of the 
country to stop producing dirty air that blows into our State. So for 
Tennesseans this is about our health, about our tourism and our 
mountains, and this is about our jobs.
  The Environmental Protection Agency says the bill will only cost 
electricity consumers about 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent increases in 
their utility bills by 2020. This may only be about $2 a month per 
customer. I think $2 a month is worth it for savings of $2 trillion in 
health care costs.
  In summary, this bill helps save hundreds of thousands of lives, 
saves trillions of health care dollars, enables communities to meet new 
EPA air quality requirements and create new jobs, and protects the 
scenic beauty of some of our greatest natural treasures.
  Cleaner air is something we can all support and I ask my colleagues 
to join Senator Carper and me in this effort.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a description of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Clean Air Act Amendments of 2010


 To reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury emissions from 
                              power plants

       Sponsors and Cosponsors: Carper, Alexander, Klobuchar, 
     Collins, Gregg, Kaufman, Graham, Feinstein, Shaheen, Schumer, 
     Lieberman, Snowe.
       Background on the Pollutants:
       1. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a gas that can 
     quickly trigger asthma attacks, but is most dangerous as one 
     of the primary raw ingredients in particle pollution. 
     SO2 converts in the atmosphere into microscopic 
     fine particles that can lodge deep in the lungs--and increase 
     the risk of dying early, trigger heart attacks, strokes, and 
     may cause lung cancer.
       2. Nitrogen oxides (NOX) are the key contributor 
     to ozone smog, which causes respiratory illness and harms 
     crops and ecosystems.
       3. Mercury is a neurotoxin. High exposure to mercury can 
     harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune systems, 
     especially in children and pregnant women. Also harms crops, 
     wildlife, and streams.
       What this bill does:
       Codifies the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) for 2010 and 
     2011--setting SO2 and NOX standards for 
     eastern states.
       Strengthens national limits on emissions of SO2 
     and NOX from power plants and creates new trading 
     systems that will enable cost-effective reductions of these 
     two pollutants.
       Directs EPA to cut mercury emissions at least 90% through 
     the best available technology.
       Why it is needed--
       Jobs: Clean air targets promote job creation in 
     engineering, construction, and manufacturing of advanced 
     clean air technologies. Targets help communities meet air 
     quality standards, so new manufacturers can get clean air 
     permits, build new facilities, and hire new workers.
       In Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example, it will allow more 
     auto part suppliers to build facilities near the new 
     Volkswagen plant and employ thousands of Tennesseans.
       Health: Cleaner air means residents are less likely to have 
     chronic lung disease, asthma, or lung cancer.
       Nationwide, EPA estimates this bill will save more than 
     215,000 lives and more than $2 trillion in health care costs 
     by 2025.
       In Tennessee, 400,000 Tennesseans with asthma are at a 
     daily risk due to poor air quality.
       In Delaware, over 18,000 children with asthma are living in 
     areas of poor air quality.
       Tourism: Millions of people a year visit the Great Smoky 
     Mountains National Park to see the ``Blue Haze'' not the smog 
     from dirty air. Tennessee has over 85 million tourists visit 
     the state each year, generating over $14 billion for the 
     State of Tennessee.
       Certainty: Clear targets provide certainty for pubic health 
     protection and for power sector investment. Predictability 
     allows companies to find the most cost-effective ways to 
     employ clean air technologies.
       How it works: Through the use of emissions control 
     equipment, such as ``scrubbers'' on smokestacks, and other 
     technologies, the bill would require utilities to:
       Cut SO2 emissions by 80 percent (from 7.6 
     million tons in 2008 to 1.5 million tons in 2018).
       Cut NOX, emissions by 53 percent (from 3 million 
     tons in 2008 to 1.6 million tons in 2015).
       Cut mercury emissions by at least 90 percent no later than 
     2015.

                                        CLEAN AIR ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Clean Air Act Amendments of 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sulfur Dioxide...................  Codifies CAIR for 2010 and 2011.
                                   National Caps
                                     Beginning in 2012--3.5 million tons emission cap.
                                     Beginning in 2015--2.0 million tons emission cap.
                                     Beginning in 2018--1.5 million tons emission cap.
                                     Builds on Acid Rain national trading program.
Nitrogen Oxide...................  Codifies CAIR for 2010 and 2011.
                                   National Caps
                                     Beginning in 2012--1.79 million tons emission cap.
                                     Beginning in 2015--1.62 million tons emission cap.
                                     Creates two regional trading programs--for the East and the West.
Mercury..........................  Directs EPA to cut mercury emissions from coal plants by at least 90% by 2015
                                    through maximum available control technology enforcement.

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Carbon Dioxide...................  Not included in this legislation.
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