US Senate Democrats say MTBE waiver, ANWR would doom energy bill

US Senate Democrats say MTBE waiver, ANWR would doom energy bill

Washington (Platts)--23Jun2005


US Senate Democrats, anticipating a House-Senate conference to reconcile
competing versions of a broad energy bill, Thursday identified four issues
that if included in a final bill would kill the legislation. At a news
conference in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada)
said Democrats would oppose efforts to add the Bush administration's "Clear
Skies" proposal to cut power-sector air emissions and a liability waiver for
manufacturers of gasoline additive MTBE to a final energy bill. 

Reid also said his party would oppose the inclusion of language opening the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling or allowing energy
development on areas of the Outer Continental Shelf now off-limits to
drilling. Reid described the MTBE waiver--which was blamed for the Senate's
failure to pass an energy bill in the last Congress--as a "poison pill" for
the energy bill. "I think there are enough senators to stop whatever would
come," he told reporters.

Clear Skies, which would set industry-supported emissions limits on mercury,
nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, failed to reach the Senate floor earlier
this year after the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee deadlocked
on the bill. Sen Jeff Bingaman (Democrat-New Mexico) blamed the Bush
administration for killing his climate change proposal to set mandatory limits
on carbon emissions. "The White House has been heavily lobbying the Senate and
they made their position clear that they opposed anything relating to global
warming," he said. 

During a news conference, Democrats urged House and Senate energy bill
negotiators to include energy conservation and renewable energy measures from
the Senate bill in the final measure, known as a conference report. The Senate
bill is expected to complete its bill by Friday at the latest, an action that
would lead to a House and Senate conference to reconcile their bills. The
House passed a bill in April. Bush has called for a bill by Aug 1.

This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com

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