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This year, Congress will be considering legislation that could have dire consequences here in Colorado. Bush’s so-called “Clear Skies” plan would extend deadlines for polluters to come into compliance with health-based emissions standards, allow companies to expand or modify their facilities without implementing modern pollution controls, and establish a national cap-and-trade program on air pollution, allowing some facilities to increase their emissions.
Colorado has made important progress in cleaning up our air in the past 10 years, but we still have a long way to go. The summer of 2003 saw the worst smog in the Denver area in a generation, and even Rocky Mountain National Park is on the verge of being designated an unhealthy area. Passage of the Bush administration’s legislation would weaken our air pollution regulation, resulting in more asthma attacks, more mercury in our water and more smog in our air.
“The proposed Clear Skies legislation is a striking misnomer,” noted Matt Garrington, Environment Colorado field organizer. “This proposal would not be a step forward for cleaner air, but would allow the state’s oldest and most polluting power plants to avoid meeting modern pollution controls.” |
