Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Update for Washington State

Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Update for Washington State

Monday, June 19, 2006

A Clear Victory for Northwest Ratepayers

Last week, Congress approved a bipartisan provision blocking a Bush Administration plan to raise Northwest electricity rates. The proposal would have reversed a decades-old Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) policy of using revenue from surplus power sales to lower Northwest rates. Since the administration's announcement in February to move ahead with this proposal without Congressional approval, I've been working with my colleagues from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana to preserve our region's system of cost-based power. Last week's move by both the House and the Senate to pass legislation containing a measure to block the rate hike is a clear victory. Our provision keeps the administration from implementing any change to BPA's rate structure this year—a move that would have stunted economic growth and delivered a setback to businesses and consumers already struggling with record high energy costs. I'm proud that the entire Northwest delegation came together to stand up for our region's families and businesses, and I'll continue to work with my Northwest colleagues to demand fair treatment for our region.
Bringing Jobs to Rural Washington

Over the weekend, I traveled to Port Angeles to tour a new alder mill that created almost 100 new, family-wage jobs when it opened in May. Over the past two years, I worked with local companies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to secure a $15 million guaranteed loan to help break ground and get this state-of-the-art facility built. Because the mill is close to where the alder trees are grown, the revenue generated from the production of furniture-grade lumber is kept in the community, adding an estimated $28 million a year to the local economy. A model for energy efficiency, the mill uses wood waste to generate power to run portions of the mill, and sells excess sawdust to other energy producers or for use as soil additives. The facility is expected to create an additional 200 mill-related jobs with trucking and transportation companies, timber owners, loggers, machine shops, and suppliers.

Helping Washington's rural communities meet the demands of a changing economy remains one of my top priorities. In 2003, I worked with the USDA to help facilitate the reopening of another mill in Lewis County and, just last month, I traveled to Aberdeen to announce plans to build one of the nation's largest biodiesel plants in Grays Harbor County. By bringing new jobs and opportunities to rural Washington, we can keep our economy and communities strong.
Closing Loopholes to Keep Corporate Polluters from Evading Toxic Cleanup Obligations

Legislation I introduced last week would help make sure corporate polluters, not taxpayers, pay to clean up contaminated Superfund sites. In Washington state, we know the consequences of abuse of bankruptcy loopholes and negligent enforcement of Superfund regulations all too well. Asarco was once one of the world's major producers of copper and other metals, with sites in Everett and on Commencement Bay near Tacoma. Last August, the company declared bankruptcy, leaving behind a billion dollar toxic legacy at more than 90 polluted sites across the country. For Washington state, Asarco's bankruptcy means that cleaning up its $180 million toxic mess—including the remaining cleanup work at the Asarco sites themselves as well as an estimated 700 to 1100 nearby residential yards—may have to be paid for by taxpayers.

After Asarco first threatened to file for bankruptcy in 2002, I requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation to determine if companies were exploiting existing laws to avoid cleanup obligations. The resulting report confirmed that corporate polluters were using bankruptcy laws to evade environmental responsibilities and that regulators could do more to make sure companies can afford to cleanup their pollution before contamination threatens human health and the environment.

My bill, the Cleanup Assurance and Polluter Accountability (CAPA) Act, is based on GAO's recommendations. If enacted a year ago, the CAPA Act would probably have prevented Asarco from passing its billion-dollar cleanup obligations onto taxpayers. Among other things, the CAPA Act would require companies handling hazardous waste substances to prove their ability to pay to clean up spills and other contamination that could result from their operations, and would close loopholes that let companies use bankruptcy as an excuse to stick taxpayers with the cleanup bill.

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/weekly_update.cfm