97020: Environmental Protection Legislation in the 105th Congress

CONTENTS FOR THIS SECTION

Regulatory Reform and Environmental Protection (by Martin Lee and Linda Schierow)
Funding Environmental Protection (by Martin Lee)
Clean Air Act (by James McCarthy)
Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (by David Bearden)
Global Climate Change (by Martin Lee)

Regulatory Reform and Environmental Protection

by Martin Lee and Linda Schierow

There was no floor action in the 105^th Congress on proposals to ensure that environmental programs focus on the greatest risks to human health and the environment and manage those risks in a cost-effective manner. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs approved comprehensive regulatory reform legislation with bipartisan support (S. 981) on March 10, 1998 (S.Rept. 105-188). It would require agencies to evaluate and compare costs, benefits, and risks when proposing or promulgating rules expected to have a major impact on the national economy. Peer review of such analyses would be required, as well as of all risk analyses that the Office of Management and Budget determined had a potentially significant policy impact. Senator Lott introduced a risk-only version of the bill, S. 1728, on March 6, 1998. S. 1728 addresses only risk assessment, not economic analysis, and only for proposed and final regulations. No similar proposals were introduced in the House.

However, the House Judiciary Committee reported H.R. 1704 on March 13, 1998, and the House Government Reform Committee approved the legislation on May 21, 1998 (H.Rept. 105-441 Parts I and II, respectively). It proposes establishing a Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis to analyze major rules and non-major rules at the request of a Member of Congress. The Senate did not act on the companion legislation (S. 1675). The Omnibus Appropriations Act, P.L. 105-277, requires OMB to report on the costs and benefits of federal regulations and directs all agencies to assess the impact of federal regulations and policies on families.

The 105th Congress oversaw EPA's performance in implementing risk-based provisions included in major legislation enacted by the 104th Congress, addressing drinking water (P.L. 104-182) and food safety (P.L. 104-170), and in conducting economic analysis of major regulations as is required under the newly enacted Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4) and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-121, Title II). (For more on risk reform legislation, see CRS Issue Brief 94036, The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection. For more on regulatory reform legislation, see CRS Issue Brief 95035, Federal Regulatory Reform: An Overview .)

Funding Environmental Protection

by Martin Lee

Congressional action on funding for the Environmental Protection Agency is a perennial activity. The 105th Congress, first session, completed action on the Budget Resolution and Reconciliation and EPA's FY1998 appropriations, signed on October 27, 1997. In the second session, the Senate has passed the 1999 budget resolution, S.Con.Res. 86; the House Budget approved its resolution, H.Con.Res. 284 on June 5, 1998. Congress has cleared the conference report on EPA's FY1999 appropriations which awaits the President's signature. For a discussion of the budget resolutions, see CRS Report 98-294, The Natural Resources and Environment Function in the FY1999 Budget: A Description of Programs and Funding.

For FY1998, the President sought $7.7 billion, $846 million more than appropriated for FY1997. The $700 million increase, or 50%, for the Superfund program was responsible for most of the planned increase and was also the major issue associated with the budget proposal. Appropriations Subcommittee chairs in both the House and Senate expressed concern over the proposed expansion of Superfund. Both the Senate and House passed versions of the FY1998 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies bill, H.R. 2158; the House approved $7.2 billion, the Senate $6.9 billion. Both bodies disapproved the Administration's proposed major expansion of Superfund and added on increased funds for state assistance. As approved by the conferees, and signed by the President on October 27, 1997, the final version included $7.4 billion in funding. The conferees opted to fund the Superfund program at $1.5 billion now and up to the $2.1 billion requested later if Congress reauthorizes the program by May 15, 1998 In final approval of the conference report on the FY1998 Budget Resolution, H.Con.Res. 84, Congress included provisions assuming full requested funding of Superfund contingent on reauthorization and assuming the requested level for EPA's operating program.

For FY1999, the President requested $7.8 billion on February 2, 1997. This represents a 6% increase over FY1998 levels. Most of the increase reflects an additional $650 million for Superfund. Whether Superfund should be expanded is a major issue associated with this request. In H.R. 4194 both the Senate and House approved about $7.4 billion, roughly $400 million less than requested. Both have disapproved major expansions of Superfund and climate change activities and added-on funds for water infrastructure and the Clean Water Initiative. P.L. 105-276 included $7.6 billion for the Agency and a provisions authorizing $650 million more for Superfund when the program is reauthorized. (For further discussion, see CRS Issue Brief 98031, Environmental Protection Agency: An Analysis of Key FY1999 Budget Issues.)

Clean Air Act

by James McCarthy

Whether to block implementation of new standards for ozone and particulates promulgated by EPA July 18, 1997, was at the top of the list of clean air issues in the 105th Congress. Both EPA and other stakeholders have characterized the new air quality standards as more stringent than those they replaced. Implementation could place additional burdens on industry, utilities, transportation, the service sector, and individuals. Following numerous congressional hearings, many in Congress supported bills introduced by Representative Klink and Senator Inhofe (H.R. 1984 and S. 1084) which would have established a moratorium on implementing the new standards pending an additional 4-5 years of research.

Neither bill was acted upon. Rather, on May 22, 1998, both the House and Senate voted to resolve the standards issue, by agreeing to language in the transportation reauthorization bill (P.L. 105-178), a bill referred to as TEA 21. The TEA 21 provision (Title VI of the bill) leaves EPA's decision on air quality standards in place, while codifying a lengthy implementation schedule that EPA and the President had announced.

Congress also enacted two provisions that amend the Clean Air Act: P.L. 105-286, a bill to control "border smog" emissions from Mexican vehicles entering southern California; and an amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations bill (P.L. 105-277, Section 764) that delays implementation of a ban on production of methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting chemical used in agriculture.

Congress last enacted major amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990. Since then, the amendments and earlier provisions of the Act appear to have contributed to a marked improvement in air quality nationwide. Los Angeles, for example, while still far from attaining air quality standards, had cleaner air in 1996 and 1997 than at any time since measurements began in the 1940s. Nationwide, more than half of the areas not meeting air quality standards for ozone in 1990 now do so. Similar progress has been achieved with carbon monoxide: two-thirds of the areas not in attainment in 1990 now meet the standard.

While substantial progress has been made, numerous issues remain on the horizon. Included are controversies over the use of MTBE, an additive that makes gasoline burn cleaner, but has been implicated in incidents of ground water contamination; whether to regulate sulfur in gasoline; how best to conduct inspection and maintenance of auto emission controls; how to control regional haze in wilderness areas and national parks (P.L. 105-178, delays implementation of a regional haze program that was proposed by EPA July 31, 1997); a variety of decisions regarding long-distance ozone transport, including the desirability of additional regulation for sources of nitrogen oxides (chiefly electric utilities); the desirability of additional, so-called "Tier 2" controls on auto emissions; and whether to regulate emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants.

Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century

by David Bearden

Federal funding to assist states in addressing the environmental impacts of surface transportation was a major issue in the 105^th Congress. On June 9, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA 21, P.L. 105-178), which authorized a total of $218 billion for federal highway and mass transit programs from FY1998 to FY2003. The law significantly increased funding for programs previously authorized under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, P.L. 102-240) and included new initiatives as well.

Of the $218 billion authorized for federal highway and mass transit programs, TEA 21 set aside roughly $12.4 billion for several initiatives to protect the environment. The majority of this funding is reserved for air quality projects under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) to assist states in complying with federal air quality standards and the new Clean Fuels Formula Grant Program to assist transit systems in purchasing low-emission buses. TEA 21 also increased funding for transportation enhancements that are environmentally related and established new programs to conduct environmental research and encourage advanced vehicle technologies (including environmental technologies). Other provisions addressed the operation of low-emission vehicles in high occupancy vehicle lanes, streamlined the environmental review process for transportation projects, and extended tax benefits for alcohol-based fuels. The Senate also added two unrelated provisions during floor debate to codify the Administration's schedule for implementing the new air quality standards for ozone and fine particulates and reauthorize funding under the Clean Vessel Act for grants to prevent vessel sewage discharges. (CRS Report 98-646 ENR, Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (P.L. 105-178): An Overview of Environmental Protection Provisions, describes each of the above programs and indicates the amount of funding authorized for their respective activities.)

Global Climate Change

by Martin Lee

Congress' interest in the many dimensions of global climate change will be high during the second session, particularly since a final international agreement has been negotiated.

(CRS Issue Brief 89005, Global Climate Change, discusses the scientific background of the greenhouse effect as well as the international context of the issue. CRS Issue Brief 97057, Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases, focuses on national programs to reduce contributing emissions, particularly tradeable permits and carbon taxes. For the energy conservation aspects of global climate change, see CRS Issue Brief 97027, Energy Efficiency: Key to Sustainable Energy Use and CRS Issue Brief 97031, Renewable Energy: Key to Sustainable Energy Supply.)