State Attorneys General Urge Senators to Close Loopholes in Climate Bill

Attorneys general of five states urged Senate leaders to
strengthen the federal climate bill by requiring cleanup or closure of
dirty coal-fired power plants, preserving state authority to set
stricter clean air standards than in federal law and ensuring that
citizens can sue to enforce the bill's provisions.

"We believe that passage of a [stronger] bill ... will build upon
the efforts of states to address climate change, and by demonstrating
the nation's commitment to achieving carbon reductions, will put the
U.S. in a stronger position in negotiations on a new international
climate accord in Copenhagen later this year," said the letter, sent
August 31.

Read the letter (PDF)

The letter was signed by attorneys general Jerry Brown of
California, Terry Goddard of Arizona, Richard Blumenthal of
Connecticut, Joseph R. Biden III of Delaware and Anne Milgram of New
Jersey. It was sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada;
Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, chair of the Environment and Public
Works Committee; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; and Sen.
James Inhofe of Oklahoma, ranking Republican on Boxer's committee.

The attorneys general wrote that ACES "represents a strong
foundation upon which the Senate can build," and made suggestions "to
strengthen the measure's effectiveness," including:

• ACES' elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency's
  authority to regulate pollution from existing coal-fired power plants
  "would allow owners of older, dirtier plants to continue operating (or
  expand) their plants, free from controls such as improved efficiency or
  cleaner fuels," the AGs wrote. "This is exactly the wrong signal to be
  sending and will delay the fundamental transition in energy production
  needed to meet our long-term climate objectives."
• The House bill preempts state-level controls on greenhouse
  gases in its first five years, but the AGs argued that states must be
  allowed to continue their own approaches to reducing emissions.
  "Allowing states to go beyond federal minimum requirements -- which is
  the model of most existing federal environmental statutes -- has worked
  well to improve the nation's environment over the past four decades and
  stimulated innovation through creative state experimentation," said the
  letter.
• The attorneys general support the provisions for strong
  federal oversight of the cap-and-trade regime established by the bill
  "to deter potential violations and market tampering." But they said
  they were concerned the Senate bill would be based on weaker
  enforcement provisions in legislation introduced by Senators Dianne
  Feinstein of California and Olympia Snowe of Maine. "From our vantage
  point as enforcers, and having seen the tremendous potential for
  damaging market manipulation in the recent housing market meltdown and
  the California energy crisis of 2000-01, we believe that strict
  regulation, oversight, and enforcement of these new markets is
  critical," the letter said.

Earthjustice, which worked closely with state AGs on a landmark case
in which the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the right to regulate
carbon dioxide as air pollution, welcomed the letter and said the
Senate should pay heed.

"With the passage of ACES, the House has begun the important and
urgent work of addressing the threat of climate change," said Sarah
Saylor, senior legislative representative for Earthjustice. "Leadership
now falls to the Senate, where there is an opportunity to address the
recommendations made by the attorneys general. These states have been
leading the way on global warming already and have a lot to bring to
the table."