Providing for Congressional Disapproval of a Rule Submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency--Continued

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, strong clean air protections remain very important for our health and environment. I have voted previously to protect the EPA's ability to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and I will oppose the two resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act which would permanently
block EPA from limiting carbon pollution from existing and new fossil fuel fired powerplants.

Finalized on August 3, 2015, the Clean Power Plan sets the first national limits on carbon pollution from existing fossil fuel fired powerplants, the Nation's single largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to EPA estimates, the Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector by 32 percent, from 2005 levels, by 2030. The final plan includes additional flexibility and provides States with more time to submit plans and to achieve compliance with the requirements. The standards to limit carbon dioxide for new, modified, or reconstructed powerplants were also finalized on August 3. On November 4, 18 States, including Maine, and several cities asked a Federal court to allow them to defend the Clean Power Plan against legal challenge.

I am encouraged that the emissions targets under the Clean Power Plan for Maine are more realistic than were originally proposed in recognition of the fact that Maine already ranks first in the Nation in the percentage reduction in greenhouse gases due to the State's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI. Through RGGI, Maine has already made substantial progress in reducing carbon emissions, increasing energy efficiency, spurring the adoption of clean energy technologies, and improving air quality and public health. By contrast, the EPA's original proposal would have unfairly disadvantaged and asked more of States that took action early than it would have from States that had not yet acted to reduce their emissions. The final rule represents a considerable improvement in this regard.

I continue to have some concerns, however, with the Clean Power Plan's treatment of renewable biomass energy. Biomass energy is a sustainable, responsible, renewable, and economically significant energy source. Many States, including Maine, are relying on renewable biomass to meet their renewable energy goals. Because the final rule places the onus on States to demonstrate the eligibility of biomass for the Clean Power Plan, this approach will lead to more regulatory uncertainty. The EPA must appropriately recognize the carbon benefits of forest bioenergy in a way that helps States, mills, and the forest products industry and recognizes the carbon neutrality of wood. I will continue to seek regulatory certainty and clarity on this issue.

Climate change is a significant threat both here in the United States and around the world. It is a challenge that requires international cooperation, including from large emitters like China and India, to reduce greenhouse gas pollution worldwide. The upcoming climate summit in Paris provides a new opportunity for international efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions in countries around the globe.

I have had the opportunity to meet in the field with some of the world's foremost climate scientists. I have traveled to Norway and to Alaska where I saw the dramatic loss of sea ice cover and the retreating Arctic glaciers. In Barrow, AK, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, I saw telephone poles leaning over because the permafrost was melting, and I talked with native people who told me that they were seeing insects that had never before been this far north. I returned from this trip believing that U.S. leadership to slow climate change would be vitally important--in order to prevent the worst extreme weather events, shifts in agricultural production and disease patterns, and more air pollution.

For Maine, climate change poses a significant threat to our vast natural resources, from working forests, fishing, and agricultural industries, to tourism and recreation, as well as for public health. With heat waves, more extreme weather events, and sea level rise, the greenhouse gasses that drive climate change are a clear threat to our way of life. As a coastal State, Maine is particularly vulnerable to storm surges and flooding, and unpredictable changes in the Gulf of Maine threaten our iconic fisheries. Climate changes also raise significant public health concerns for Maine's citizens, from asthma to Lyme disease. Maine has one of the highest and fastest growing incident rates of Lyme disease, and its spread has been linked to higher temperatures that are ripe for deer ticks and their hosts. Sitting at the end of the air pollution tailpipe, Maine also has some of the highest rates of asthma in the country.

The Clean Air Act remains vital for protecting our health and the environment, and I will continue to support responsible and realistic efforts to reduce harmful pollution that affects us all.

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