Coal ignites debate between 2 Pittsburgh lawmakers

Rothfus, Doyle clash over new bill

WASHINGTON — Air pollution standards would be loosened for energy plants that burn coal waste under controversial legislation a Pittsburgh congressman shepherded through theU.S. House on Thursday.

If the Senate agrees, U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus’ SENSE Act (Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment) would loosen air pollution standards. The plants, which now must meet standards for both sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride emissions, would be deemed in compliance if they meet just one standard or the other under Mr. Rothfus’ plan.

Nineteen plants across the country, including 14 in Pennsylvania, produce energy from coal refuse.

The SENSE Act would circumvent Environmental Protection Agency regulations that Mr. Rothfus says jeopardize the future of three plants in Pennsylvania and two in West Virginia that have not adopted costly technologies that would bring them into compliance. The bill also would prevent the EPA from more stringently regulating coal refuse plants in the future.

Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle of Forest Hills say the exemption is unfair to plants that already have invested in the technology. Mr. Doyle also is concerned about granting a lifetime exemption for standards that could become less expensive to meet as technology advances.

Mr. Rothfus said the exemption recognizes the “unique environmental benefit that these plants” provide by processing millions of tons of waste that had been piling up and degrading coal country’s streams and hillsides for decades.

“This is a debate about one-size-fits-all coming out of Washington, D.C., and the failure of folks in this town at the regulatory agencies not to appreciate the nuance of what’s going on in the rest of the country,” Mr. Rothfus said on the House floor.

Democrats characterized the exemption as an unnecessary carve-out for plants that failed to embrace scientific advancement and industrial progress.

“No one is saying anything bad about these plants. They’re providing a valuable service. They can do it in a much more environmentally friendly way because technology is allowing that to happen,” Mr. Doyle said.

The bill passed, 215-189, with five Democrats joining the Republicans in voting yes. Fourteen Republicans voted no, including Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks.

Prospects of passage are dimmer in the Senate, where no companion bill has been introduced.