Keystone No Longer a Part of Transportation Bill, Ambient Air Standards Can Impose Industry and Local Burdens

The negotiators for the Senate and House have struck a deal to combine the transportation reauthorization, student loan bill and flood insurance legislation in a package that is expected to pass by the end of the week. Important, for the energy community and, frankly, the 2012 election, the House Republicans agreed to drop their demands for language expediting the authorization of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline and loosening regulations on coal ash. In return, Republicans  won a concession from Democrats to streamline permitting of transportation projects.  Effectively, Keystone XL Pipeline is off the table for 2012.  This will most probably represent the last significant burst of legislating before the election, as lawmakers will become increasingly preoccupied by message votes and electioneering in the weeks ahead.  Lawmakers could not finish drafting the bill in time to post it online by 12 a.m. Thursday, which means House GOP leaders will either have to waive the three-day rule for reviewing legislation before a vote or delay passage until Saturday.   

In today's Energy and Commerce Hearings on Ambient Air Standards, Jeff Holmstead,  George W. Bush EPA's air chief, in his testimony said  the agency isn't properly considering the impact of complying with the proposed new rule. "My primary concern about the new proposed standards is that EPA is not being fully honest about the burden it will impose on state and local governments, companies and businesses and American consumers," he plans to say. "EPA is not, or at least should not be, just another advocacy group waging a public relations campaign. The agency and its officials should be open and honest about the implications of its regulatory actions."