ASERTTI News
Boxer Releases New Text of Senate Emissions Bill
As reported in E&E Daily, Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-California) released a substitute global warming
bill yesterday with a number of significant changes
compared with an earlier version approved last
December in the Environment and Public Works
Committee. The new 157-page plan includes an $800
billion tax break to help Americans cope with high
energy prices, greater use of international forestry
programs and a cost-containment program that creates
a bank of extra greenhouse gas emission allowances
to be auctioned off if the price for a carbon credit
reaches a predetermined range. At a press
conference today, Boxer insisted the changes would
help win additional votes when the legislation comes
to the floor for debate starting June 2. "Several
provisions have won people over," she said. Sens.
Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Virginia)
coauthored the original bill and signed off on the
substitute amendment. They promised today to offer
their own amendment that would expand the use of
nuclear power.
Click
here for the substitute amendment.
Farm Bill
Becomes Law – Veto Override
Thanks to the efforts many states and local
organizations, and, in particular the efforts of the
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and
Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), the new
Farm Bill, including enhanced energy provisions, is
now law. The hard work of those dedicated to
supporting clean energy has been instrumental in
passing a stronger Energy Title in the 2008 Farm
Bill.
As reported in E&E Daily, the Senate joined the
House yesterday in voting to overturn the
president's veto of the five-year farm bill, bucking
the White House with emphatic support for the $286
billion measure, despite questions over a missing
section of the bill. The 82-13 vote in the Senate
enacted more than 90 percent of the five-year farm
bill into law. Left out of the mix was assistance
for the U.S. softwood lumber industry -- part of the
trade title Democrats said they inadvertently
omitted due to a clerical error.
This Farm Bill builds upon the first-ever Energy
Title of the 2002 Farm Bill, providing new and
improved programs and a stronger federal commitment
to farm-based energy of all types. For an in-depth
memorandum from Environmental Law and Policy Center
on the new Farm Bill Energy Title, please
click here.
Conferees Strike Agreement on Budget Deal
The House and Senate are poised to approve a
congressional budget resolution this week that calls
for discretionary spending increases for a slew
environment and energy-related programs. As reported
in E&E Daily, under the energy portion of the bill,
the House and Senate have agreed to provide $7.7
billion in discretionary spending for the various
energy functions, which include areas such as
research and development projects under the Energy
Department as well as funding for the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. That level is roughly $2.8 billion more
than the amount sought by the White House and that
was authorized last year. Roughly $2 billion will go
toward the creation of "green collar" jobs as well
as to provide increases in programs related to
renewable energy and energy efficiency research. The
agreement also contains deficit-neutral reserve
funds to accommodate potential future energy
legislation.
Landmark Local Emissions Fee Passed in Northern
California
Bay area air regulators voted overwhelmingly
Wednesday to impose the first-ever carbon fees in
the United States. As report in ClimateWire, the Bay
Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), in
the face of hostile opposition from petroleum
companies, approved a 4.4-cent charge per metric ton
of carbon dioxide equivalent on businesses in the
agency's nine-county region. The fee targets
greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources
such as refiners, cement plants and retail gasoline
outlets.
Opponents showed up in large numbers at a public
hearing to accuse district officials of overstepping
their bounds and creating confusion between local
laws and the state's landmark emissions bill, A.B.
32. "It's not about the fee, it's about the
jurisdiction," Dennis Bolt, manager of the Bay Area
Region for the Western States Petroleum Association,
told the district's board of directors.
Proponents of the rule argued the fee is minor and
will only affect a handful of emitters. Of the 2,500
facilities subject to the fee, only seven operations
-- mostly refineries and power plants -- would pay
over $50,000 to comply, according to data compiled
by the air district.
Ammonia: The Key
to Energy Independence Conference
Mark your calendars for the Fifth Annual Ammonia
Fuel Conference -- AF V. This year's meeting will be
held in Minneapolis on Monday-Tuesday, September 29
- 30, and there will be a lab tour of the University
of Minnesota wind-to-ammonia synthesis lab on
Wednesday morning October 1. Unlike last year, there
will be no registration fee for AF V. The Iowa
Energy Center has graciously covered the cost of the
meeting facility. You can register by calling Patty
Prouty or Julie Charlson at 515-294-8819.
If you would like to present a paper at AF V, please
submit a title and half-page abstract to John
Holbrook by June 30. The emphasis of the paper
should be on some aspect of ammonia as a fuel -- NH3
production, storage, distribution, safety, and end
uses. The presentations will be 25 minutes in length
with 5 minutes Q&A. And, look for the new Ammonia
Fuel Network web site near the end of May at
www.ammoniafuelnetwork.org. |
