Taking The Hill
MTBE Phaseout Bills
Two bills phasing out the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) have recently been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The first bill, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and cosponsored by Sen. Richard Luger, R-Ind., calls for a tripling in the use of ethanol coupled with a cut in the use of MTBE. The bill, the “Renewable Fuels Act of 2000,” would establish nationwide requirements for renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.The second bill, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., would phase out MTBE and promote the use of ethanol in gasoline. The bill, the “Clean Air and Water Preservation Act of 2000,” would require an MTBE ban with a three-year lead time from the date of enactment, and maintains the federal requirement for oxygenates in reformulated gasoline (RFG) permanently. Ethanol has been singled out as the only viable alternative to MTBE, also an oxygenate, should oxygenates still be required in RFG. The measure would also provide for a temporary waiver to the oxygenate requirement if ethanol supply is inadequate.
Voinovich Introduces Brownfields Bill
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, introduced a bill that would in large part release companies that perform cleanups at brownfields sites from the threat of having to return to the site for additional cleanup work under the more complicated and expensive Superfund laws. In introducing the bill, Voinovich noted that states are leading the way in cleaning up brownfields safely and efficiently, averaging more than 1,400 cleanups each year and addressing about 4,700 sites at any given time. Voinovich hopes the bill will encourage even more cleanups under the popular brownfields program largely run by states. To that end, the bill would provide businesses that assume responsibility for brownfields cleanups a heightened level of assurance that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not retroactively require additional cleanup efforts under Superfund.Bond Protests Ergonomics Comment Handling
Christopher Bond, R-Mo., the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee chairman, is protesting the way the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is handling comment letters on the agency's proposed ergonomics regulation. OSHA set its own timetable to put the regulation into place before the end of the year. Bond claims that OSHA is so desperate to push the regulation before the end of the Clinton administration that it is not even taking a close look at comment letters sent by critics of the rule. “This is the broadest, most expensive regulation ever pursued by the agency,” said Bond. “This combination of extraordinary amounts of comments to review and relatively little time to do a thorough review has undoubtedly placed the agency under enormous pressure.”President Recognizes National Transportation Week
President Clinton has issued a presidential proclamation to celebrate transportation's contribution to the United States. In the proclamation, the president recognized that America's transportation system has enhanced our economy, protected safety and improved Americans' quality of life. He also recognized that a great challenge facing the transportation industry today is to develop alternative fuels and clean energy sources that will not harm the environment. The president also said, “The 20th century was indeed a golden age for transportation; the 21st century can be an even brighter one.”House Passes Transportation Appropriations with CAFE Rider
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the fiscal 2001 Department of Transportation spending bill by a vote of 395-13. Included in the bill was language that would bar the Clinton administration from studying technologies to increase the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for sport utility vehicles and light trucks. The language of the rider is the same language approved by Congress every year since 1995.
AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XLVIII, July 2000 E-mail: asainfo@asashop.org, Web Site: http://www.asashop.org Copyright © 2000 Automotive Service Association (ASA). All rights reserved.