The proposed “Clear Skies” bill would allow more pollution by weakening regulations in the Clean Air Act.

Ahh, summertime in Maine and the living is easy. Well, except for the dirty air we’re breathing. Already this summer we’ve had four bad air days according to Department of Environmental Protection. And more dirty air is on its way if President Bush is successful at passing his weak “Clear Skies” legislation and rolling back the Clean Air Act. He is working hard to replace long-standing, proven clean air protections so that polluting coal and oil plants can evade their responsibilities.

It’s no secret that Maine has poor air quality. Last summer was Maine’s worst in over a decade with 17 “bad air days.” This means that Maine’s skies are obstructed by haze; Maine’s lakes, streams and rivers suffer from high mercury levels; and young kids, seniors and people who are at risk for asthma are forced to spend their day inside. Air pollution in Maine originating from upwind power plants harms nearly one-third of Mainers – that’s 400,000 people.

The Clean Air Act, originally passed during the Nixon administration, has resulted in the gradual improvement of air quality for 30 years. The act’s New Source Review (NSR) provision, enacted into the Clean Air Act in 1977, ensures that the oldest power plants, originally exempted from complying with modern pollution standards, would be required to clean up their emissions when making significant modifications to expand or extend plant life.

Industry officials assured Congress 25 years ago that these older plants would soon be retired or replaced by modern units with low-emissions equipment. In turn, Congress established NSR as a precaution that would force antiquated plants to eventually achieve national emissions requirements.

To this day, hundreds of grandfathered plants have yet to install modern air pollution controls. And these dirty, old plants are now responsible for most of the nation’s power plant pollution.

While the Bush administration is working to pass legislation and weaken regulations to undermine the Clean Air Act, members of Maine’s congressional delegation are leading the efforts in Congress to stop the Bush administration’s attack on clean air.

In the House, Rep. Tom Allen led the effort to get 138 members of Congress – including Rep. Mike Michaud – to send a letter to President Bush expressing their concern over his proposal to weaken crucial aspects of the Clean Air Act.

The representatives’ letter urges the president to make “changes to the proposed ‘Clear Skies’ legislation to ensure that mercury controls are stronger, not weaker, than current law.” The letter further explains that the Administration’s plan, by prolonging unacceptably high exposure to a potent neurotoxin, will cause harm to the most vulnerable, especially young children.

And in his role as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Allen is continuing his criticism by asking administration officials tough questions during a series of committee hearings on the Clear Skies program.

On the Senate side, legislation introduced by Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., and co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, stands in stark contrast to the Bush air pollution plan. The Clean Power Act would significantly improve the nation’s air quality by capping the four worst power plant pollutants by 2009. The legislation sets specific reduction targets of 75 percent for nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions – responsible for lung burning “ozone smog” and acid rain respectively – and 90 percent reduction for mercury emissions.

A quarter century after the Clean Air Act and the New Source Review were implemented, polluters continue to evade the law. Instead of insisting on compliance with the law, the Bush administration is busily rewriting regulations to suit the coal and utility industries.

Congress must be the deciding force: One path favors corporate interests, and the other protects public health and our environment by strengthening the Clean Air Act. Maine’s congressional delegation is leading the way in efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act and to finally de-grandfather the old, dirty power plants. They have our support. Maine’s citizens deserve the right to have a summer of clean air.

Sue Jones is the director of the Air and Energy Project for Natural Resources Council of Maine. Angela Ledford is the director of Clear the Air.

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