February 7, 1980
Page 2453
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senator from Louisiana has seen fit to delete section 304 from the pending territories legislation. I appreciate his cooperation in this matter.
Section 304 would have exempted the Guam Power Authority from certain critical provisions of the Clean Air Act. Specifically, section 111, requiring compliance with new source performance standards, and section 123, prohibiting the use of intermittent control strategies, would have been made inapplicable to the powerplants operated by the Guam Power Authority.
I strongly objected to the consideration of these amendments by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Clean Air Act is solely within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and specifically the Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution which I chair. It is our responsibility to examine any issue arising under that law and to consider any necessary amendments to it.
I would like to assure both the Senator from Louisiana and the Congressman from Guam, Mr. WON PAT, that these issues will receive thorough examination by the Committee on Environment and Public Works when we review the Clean Air Act in the next Congress.
I would also like to commend Mr. WON PAT for his effective representation of the Territory of Guam. I look forward to continued dialog with him in this matter. I ask that the relevant portions of my correspondence with the Congressman be printed in the RECORD at this point:
The correspondence follows:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D.C.,
December 10, 1979.
Hon. EDMUND MUSKIE,
Chairman,
Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recently marked up H.R. 3756, the Territories Omnibus Bill to include an amendment to exempt the Guam Power Authority (GPA) from Sections 111 and 123(a) (2) of the Clean Air Act ("the Act"). This amendment is very important to me and my constituency, and I would like to take this opportunity to brief you on the background and rationale for this particular amendment, and to solicit your support.
GPA operates several generating facilities at which the Act requires continuous sulfur dioxide controls. In order to comply, GPA will have to either (1) continuously burn low sulfur fuel at an annual cost of $15-16 million above present fuel costs, or (2) install two scrubber systems at a minimum capital cost of $12 million for one and $5-10 million for the other and an annual operating cost of $2-2 and 1/2 million for the former and $1 and 1/2-2 million for the latter.
GPA is required to undertake these expenditures in spite of the fact that under present pollution control strategies the air quality of Guam exceeds the national standards.
GPA currently utilizes the prevailing winds as part of its system of sulfur dioxide control. When the wind blows from the land toward the sea, which is 88.6 percent of the time, GPA burns fuel with 3 percent sulfur. The remaining 11.4 percent of the time, when the wind blows toward land, GPA burns low sulfur fuel (.75 percent sulfur) .
Because Guam lies in an easterly trade wind belt and experiences winds from the east constantly, any emissions from GPA generating facilities are almost always blown out to sea. Since the facilities are all located on the western side of the island and since there are no inhabited land masses for approximately fifteen hundred miles to the west of Guam, all emissions wash out of the atmosphere over hundreds of miles of empty ocean.
Compliance with the above-mentioned sections of the Act would have absolutely no clean air benefits for the people of Guam or for any people elsewhere. The only result will be somewhat cleaner air over the uninhabited ocean to the west of Guam, which will be purchased at a capital cost which GPA cannot finance and operating costs which my constituents simply cannot afford.
The consent order entered on August 15, 1979 simply extends the amount of time by which GPA has to comply with applicable requirements of the Act. Moreover, the consent order does not protect GPA from section 120 penalties which could easily exceed $2 million per year. This is so because section 120 is, by its terms, applicable regardless of any consent order. Consequently, I do not view the order as a solution to the basic problem. I believe that the problem can only be resolved legislatively in the manner set forth in the amendment. I do not view with any enthusiasm the prospect, in the event the amendment is not passed, of introducing separate legislation appropriating millions of dollars to enable compliance with certain sections of the Act which bear no rational relationship to conditions on Guam and surrounding areas.
All these points were presented at the hearing on H.R. 3756 on October 10, 1979. Further detailed documentation was supplied to the Committee soon after the hearing. Review of these materials can only convince you of the merits of the amendment.
Needless to say, Mr. Chairman, your support of this amendment is crucial to its passage. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to call me anytime.
I look forward to continued cooperation with you in any matters which require my assistance.
With best regards.
Sincerely yours,
ANTONIO B. WON PAT,
Member of Congress.
U.S. SENATE,
Washington, D.C.,
December 11, 1979.
Hon. ANTONIO B. WON PAT,
Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR CONGRESSMAN WON PAT: I am sorry that I missed your phone call yesterday regarding the Guam Power Authority exemption from the Clean Air Act. I know that my Administrative Assistant discussed my concerns with you but I wanted to respond personally.
I am deeply disturbed by the precedent of legislating a specific exemption from the Clean Air Act for a pollution source. I am more concerned with that exemption being included in a bill reported by a committee which does not have jurisdiction over the Clean Air Act. Therefore, I have asked the Majority Leader not to agree to any unanimous consent requests regarding the Territories Omnibus Bill until I have been consulted.
I would prefer that the Energy Committee drop this amendment from the legislation and that any problem with the Clean Air Act which your constituents face be brought to the Environment and Public Works Committee in an orderly fashion. Because no effort was made to contact me or my staff prior to the Energy Committee's decision to include this exemption, I have no view as to the appropriateness of the relief requested.
I remember and appreciate your help on Loring Air Force Base and I assure you that I will give Guam Power Authority a fair hearing should their problem be brought before the Environment and Public Works Committee when it reviews the Clean Air Act in the next Congress.
With best wishes, I am
Sincerely,
EDMUND S. MUSKIE.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, we have reached the only appropriate resolution of this issue. I wish to thank all of the parties involved in reaching this agreement.