Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2021) to amend the Clean Air Act regarding air pollution from Outer Continental Shelf activity:

* Ms. RICHARDSON. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2021, the incorrectly named Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011, which, aside from creating no jobs, merely permits major offshore oil companies to skirt reasonable clean-air standards, leading to greater health hazards and a poisoned environment for my constituents in California and others living on America's coastlines.

* Under the Clean Air Act of 1990, large, offshore projects that emit more than 250 tons of an air pollutant are subject to pre-construction air pollution permits, just like any on-shore installation, such as a factory. Oil rigs and their support ships are subject to regulations based on the amount of pollution they distribute into the air and the surrounding ocean.

* H.R. 2021 declares that pollution regulations shall apply ``solely with respect to the impacts in the corresponding onshore area.'' This means that the ocean and all the area from the oil rig to the breakers will not be properly taken into account when a company prepares its environmental impact reports. Near-shore areas with extensive human activity such as fishing and boating sites will not matter. Companies will be regulated according to how much they pollute at long distances, allowing them to pump more toxins into the air.

* We all know that air pollution contributes to adverse health effects and environmental degradation. Nowhere is this more obvious than in my home state of California where toxic air pollution is consistently linked to cancer and birth defects. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Los Angeles, where my 37th Congressional District is located, has some of the highest levels of cancer-related toxic air pollutants in the country. The Clean Air Act itself was a direct response to the issues of air quality in major American cities such as Los Angeles, and I cannot support a bill that undoes efforts which have improved the quality of life for so many of my constituents.

* As a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure representing a major port city, I authored the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, DERA, of 2010, which was passed in the 111th Congress. DERA provides economic incentives to retrofit commercial diesel engines, making them cleaner and more efficient without threatening trade. Instead of letting offshore drillers pollute more, we should focus on technologies and procedures that lessen their environmental impact.

* I believe that, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, offshore oil drillers should be held to the highest standards. To this end, I will soon introduce the Securing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment, SHORE, Act, which will ensure that offshore drilling operations prepare comprehensive disaster mitigation and clean-up plans before they ever begin operations.

* Under H.R 2021, the weak regulations the Republicans are attempting to establish would not even be in effect until ``the period between when drilling commences at a location and when drilling ends at that location.'' Support vessels, which produce the majority of emissions at these sites, would not have to apply any pollution controls or be factored into environmental impact statements. These provisions will effectively prevent the EPA and state authorities from addressing serious sources of pollution from offshore oil and gas sites.

* In addition to recklessly cutting critical safeguards to air pollutants, this legislation will remove any authority for EPA's Environmental Appeals Board to review permit decisions for offshore exploration activities. Stakeholders who wish to challenge an EPA permit would have to do so through costly litigation through the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Furthermore, it cuts down the time allotted for public review and places similar time constraints on state and local hearing boards.

* In summary, this destructive bill would remove basic safeguards to toxic pollutants and restrict procedures used to challenge oil companies who drill in sensitive areas. There are similar operations going on just off shore from my district, and I cannot tell my constituents that I sat idly by while Congress allowed more toxic substances to fill our air and threaten our environment. I urge my colleagues to vote for the health of the American people and oppose this legislation.

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