Congress Reacts With Waivers and Offsets

Under the thinly veiled guise of hurricane relief efforts, both Houses of Congress are now considering bills that would allow President Bush and EPA to weaken or waive the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, adding to the devastation caused by these catastrophic storms. Fortunately, some of the more responsible lawmakers in Congress are seeking to counter these attempts.

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Here are some of the waivers and offsets proposed in Congress:

The Louisiana Katrina Reconstruction Act, introduced by Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), allows the President to issue emergency permits waiving environmental protection for projects related to Hurricane Katrina. All the President has to do is determine the action is in “the best interest” of the United States. The proposal permanently waives protections in the Clean Water Act and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act against the spraying of pesticides in water for mosquito control.

Environmental Law Waivers, co-sponsored by Senators Inhofe (R-OK) and Vitter (R-LA), is a blank check, granting EPA sweeping authority to waive federal, state or local law or regulations. To invoke the waiver, EPA need only determine that such a waiver is “necessary to respond, in a timely and effective manner, to a situation or damage relating to Hurricane Katrina,” and is “in the public interest.”

“Operation Offset,” is the name given by the conservative House Republican Study Committee to a $543 billion spending-cut plan they propose to offset the cost of “relief and reconstruction effort” of the Gulf Coast. The proposed cuts read like a polluter’s wish list, and an environmental nightmare. Operation Offset calls for:
• Cuts to Waste Disposal Grants, a program that provides funding for water and wastewater treatment facilities in rural communities.
• Reductions in EPA’s Water Pollution Control Grants, given to states to prevent water pollution.
• Elimination of federal wastewater grants that assist states in achieving federally mandated water quality standards for wastewater infrastructure.
• Phasing out the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP), which helps poor rural communities by providing loans and grants for water projects and economic development.

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And two valiant attempts to prevent these rollbacks, waivers and offsets and prepare the nation for the hurricanes of the future:

Gulf Coast Infrastructure Redevelopment and Recovery Act of 2005, introduced by Senators Jeffords (I-VT), Boxer (D-CA) and others, sets up a federal task force to coordinate Katrina response efforts among agencies. It establishes National Preparedness Grants and would work to fix the needless and catastrophic problems that emerged in our nation’s emergency response plans. The bill also establishes a National Levee Safety Program and requires EPA to develop a comprehensive sampling plan for hazardous substances that threaten human health or the environment.

Public Health and Environmental Equity Act, introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL), legally establishes the need to maintain public health, environment and environmental justice laws and regulations throughout the rebuilding after Katrina.