ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
2/19 Intro and Thesis
2/20 paper
2/26 Midterm
U.S. ENERGY-RELATED CO2 EMISSIONS IN
EARLY 2012 LOWEST SINCE 1992
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=7350
PATHWAYS TO PRESIDENTIAL POWER


Discretionary authority granted by statutes
(Vague Legislation)
Green State/Labyrinth/layering
ANTIQUITIES ACT, 1906 DEVIL’S TOWER
CHACO CANYON
MONTEZUMA CASTLE, AZ
NATURAL BRIDGES, UT
LASSEN PEAK, CA
MUIR WOODS, CA
AND WE KNOW HOW THAT TURNS OUT..
ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906


“ the President of the United States is hereby
authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public
proclamation historic landmarks, historic and
prehistoric structures, and other objects of
historic or scientific interest that are situated
upon the lands owned or controlled by the
Government of the United States to be national
monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof
parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases
shall be confined to the smallest area compatible
with proper care and management of the objects
to be protected.”
Limits on presidential authority? Size? Scope?
KAIPAROWITS PLATEAU UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY- $223 -$331 BILLION IN ENERGY AND
MINERAL RESOURCES


Grand Staircase
Escalante National
Monument
designated by Clinton
Utah Geological
Survey- $223 -$331
billion in energy and
mineral resources
$120+ MILLION IN ROYALTIES FOR UT
VS.

"We are saying very simply, our parents and
grandparents saved the Grand Canyon for us;
today, we will save the Grand Escalante Canyons
and the Kaiparowits Plateaus of Utah for our
children.“
 “On
this site, on this remarkable site, God's
handiwork is everywhere in the natural beauty of
the Escalante Canyons and in the Kaiparowits
Plateau, in the rock formations that show layer by
layer billions of years of geology, in the fossil
record of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life, in
the remains of ancient American civilizations like
the Anacosi Indians.”
Sep 18, 1996, Outside El Tovar Lodge
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
GOP WESTERN ELECTED OFFICIALS
RESPONSE
Craig Peterson, “I feel violated.” (majority leader
of UT State Senate
 Murkowski (R-AK)- “most arrogant, hypocritical,
and blatantly political exercise of federal power
affecting public land”
 Chenoweth (R-ID)- “biggest land grab since the
invasion of Poland.”
 House Resource Committee issues 2 reports
• The Abuse of Trust and Discretion..
• Monumental Abuse…

CHECKS AND BALANCES FAIL?


GOP introduces bills to limit or block the
president's ability to make such designations
without approval from Congress
District Court- the President “complied with the
Antiquities Act's two requirements.”
CONGRESS

Congress passes 3 national conservation areas, one
national monument, one cooperative protection act in
2000
 Colorado Canyon Conservation Area Act of 2000
18 more
 6 million
acres


But’s that
not all….
CALIFORNIA COASTAL
NATIONAL MONUMENT

“all unappropriated or unreserved lands and interest in the lands
owned or controlled by the United States in the form of islands,
rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles above mean high tide within
12 nautical miles of the shoreline of the State of California.”
OBAMA
between 2009 and March 2014, Congress didn’t
pass a single bill to create new land protections.
Congress had gone five years without protecting
a new acre of public land — the longest period of
congressional inaction on land conservation since
World War II,
 13 monuments, 1 million acres

NEW SOURCE REVIEW
“MAJOR MODIFICATION” IS CENTRAL TO
BOTH NSR ENFORCEMENT AND REFORMS

Historic and still current (in most of U.S.) definition
of “major modification:”

Any physical change in or change in the method of
operation of an existing major source that would result
in a significant net emissions increase of any pollutant
subject to regulation under the CAA
From Nixon and Peabody, NSR Update to RI
25
THE EQUIPMENT
REPLACEMENT PROVISION –
BUSH EPA RULE

An activity (or aggregation of activities) will fall under the RMR&R
exclusion if:
1. It involves replacement of any existing component(s) of a process unit
with identical or functionally equivalent components;
2. The fixed capital costs of the replaced component(s) plus the costs of
activities that are part of the replacement effort do not exceed 20% of
the current replacement value of the process unit; and
3. The replacement component(s) does not alter the basic design
parameters of the process unit or cause the process unit to exceed any
legally enforceable emission or emission-constraining operational
limitations applicable to the process unit
From Nixon Peabody, NSR Update to RI
26
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER?

The final leg of this 11-year odyssey to NSR reform is far
from over
 The D.C. Circuit is reviewing the 2003 reform
 Review of Duke 2005 by the Supreme Court is being
sought
 States and environmental groups will fight the
proposed 2005 reform
 Will State resistance overwhelm the system?
 How long will it take EPA Regional Offices to approve
SIP revisions implementing the reforms in State PSD
and NANSR regulations?
27

President’s alternative pathways allow for
unitary action by president to implement their
environmental policy preferences.
require action by other political actor (Congress) to
undo
 have increased with gridlock

HOW DOES CONGRESS DO

Make laws


Appropriate $


House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
hearing. Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturing company that
recently filed for bankruptcy, received $535
Hold hearings


reduce financing by $1.9 million for a study researching
salmon migrations at the Klamath Dam by the Bureau of
Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service
Oversee federal agencies


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act- To provide for the conservation and management of the
fisheries, and for other purposes.
United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works. September 25, 2007 Hearing on: Green Jobs Created
by Global Warming
Respond to citizen’s concerns

my water smell funny; don’t shoot swans
SENATOR REID (D-NV) LETTER TO
CONSTITUENT

Thank you for contacting me about the Reducing
Global Warming Pollution from Vehicles Act of 2008
(S. 2555). I appreciate hearing from you. … I have
noted your support for the bill, and I will keep your
thoughts in mind should it come before the full
Senate. …I have always been a strong supporter of
environmental protection and have fought for
improvements to our major environmental laws such
as the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act,
Clean Air Act, and Superfund. I look forward to
continuing to strengthen these and other
environmental laws so even more can be
accomplished.
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your
thoughts with me.
http://bluesageviews.blogspot.com/2008/03/reid-letter-to-constituent-on-billto.html
Unitary - 1 President

Agenda Setting
Collective- 435 House, 100 Senate
Policy Legitimation
REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTION
Electoral Incentives

Localism- folks back
home #1

Good/bad?
Bicameral Institution
 House – 2 year terms
 Senate- 6 year terms
“Cap
and Trade is a difficult issue,” Sen. Evan Bayh (D-

Map of coal mines in UShttp://minerals.usgs.gov/m
inerals/pubs/mapdata/coal
.pdf
EFFECT OF BICAMERALISM

Fragmentation
Geographic representation
 435 and 100 people sharing power


What would policy be like if Congress was
unicameral and elected in at large elections?
Hold hearings
 Review legislation
 Fact finding

Senate
 20 committees
 68 subcommittees
 4 joint committees

How Congress
processes the high
volume and
complexity of
legislative business
Woodrow Wilson
 “Congress in committee
is Congress at work”

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCE
COMMITTEE




Subcommittee on Energy- nuclear, coal and synthetic
fuels research and development; Federal energy
conservation programs; oil, gas and coal production and
distribution.
Subcommittee on National ParksNational Park
System; Wild and Scenic Rivers System; National Trails
System; national recreation areas;
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests- Bureau
of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service; general
mining lawsOuter Continental Shelf leasing
Subcommittee on Water and Power- irrigation;
reclamation projects, including related flood control
purposes; power marketing administrations (e.g.,
Bonneville Power, Southwestern Power, Western Area
Power, Southeastern Power); energy development impacts
on water resources; groundwater resources and
management; hydroelectric power
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
Children’s Health and Environmental
Responsibility
 Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
 Green Jobs and the New Economy
 Oversight
 Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
 Transportation and Infrastructure
 Water and Wildlife

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND
PUBLIC WORKS
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
 Business Meeting to consider the following items:
• S. 97, San Francisco Bay Restoration Act
 • S. 893, Feral Swine Eradication and Control
Pilot Program Act of 2011
 • S. 1400, Resources and Ecosystems
Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and
Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act
of 2011,
 • GSA Resolutions
 Ken Kopocis, nominated to be Assistant
Administrator for the Office of Water for the
Environmental Protection Agency

Subcommittee on Children’s Health and Environmental
Responsibility hearing entitled, "Oversight Hearing on Federal
Actions to Clean Up Contamination from Legacy Uranium Mining
and Milling Operations."
Mr. James Woolford
Director of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mr. David Geiser
Director, Office of Legacy Management
U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Michael Weber
Deputy Executive Director, Materials, Waste, Research, State, Tribal, and
Compliance Programs
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
DOESN’T
BECOME
A LAW—
CONGRESS AS
A LAWDEFEATING,
NOT
LAWMAKING
INSTITUTION
ADLER, CLEAN FUELS, DIRTY AIR

Classified 1-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Areas
CAN CONGRESS GOVERN/SAVE THE
PLANET?
DOUGLAS ARNOLD-- AUDITING MODEL OF
CITIZEN CONTROL

Legislators' electoral calculations


Attentive vs. inattentive publics
Citizen preferences
Magnitude, timing of costs/benefits
 Traceability - legislators vote or action led to the cost

Intensity of (potential) preferences X likelihood of
action
 Coalition Leader Strategies

Persuasion- no electoral risk
 Procedural- hide traceability
 Modification- side payments to build coalition

AS THE WORLD BURNS
Basic story
 Can Congress save
the environment?
 Environmental vs.
economic implications
 Larger political
economic context

DOUGLAS ARNOLD AS THE WORLD BURNS

Legislators' electoral calculations


Attentive vs. inattentive publics
Citizen preferences
Magnitude, timing of costs/benefits
 Traceability - legislators vote or action led to the cost

Intensity of (potential) preferences X likelihood of
action
 Coalition Leader Strategies

Persuasion- no electoral risk
 Procedural- hide traceability
 Modification- side payments to attentive publics to build
coalition

HOUSE VS. SENATE

Great Plains and Rocky Mountains (AK, AZ, CO,
ID, KS, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, SD, UT, WY).

House of Representatives
37 representatives (8.5% of body)
 Vote 13-24 against the Cap and trade


Senate
have 11 Democratic and 15 Republican senators
 26 senators, 26% of body

51.8% of electricity produced is from coal fired plants
CONGRESS – ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS

TRAIN Act - Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of
Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act
create a special committee to oversee the EPA's rules and
regulations,
 require EPA to consider economic impacts on polluters
when it sets standards concerning how much air pollution
is too much.


REINS Act
require Congress to approve all new regulations,
 Grants House or Senate veto of the executive branch.


EPA budget- cut 18%
CONGRESS – ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS


Agriculture appropriation (H.R. 2112), Military Construction
appropriation (H.R. 2055), Energy and Water appropriation (H.R.
2354). The Interior and Environment appropriation (H.R. 2584) and
Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriation (unnumbered)
Appropriations Riders





LIGHTING STANDARDS: A rider in the Energy and Water
appropriation (Sec. 623) offered by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)
would prohibit spending to enforce the incandescent lighting efficiency
standards in the 2007 energy law
AGRIBUSINESS CESSPOOL GREENHOUSE POLLUTION: A rider
in the Interior and Environment appropriation (Sec. 429) offered by Rep.
Mike Simpson (R-ID) would prevent the EPA from requiring the reporting
of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems.
AUTOMOTIVE GREENHOUSE POLLUTION: A rider in the Interior
and Environment appropriation offered by Rep. Steve Austria (R-OH)
would block the EPA from setting new mileage standards for cars based on
greenhouse pollution and from allowing California to do so.
NOAA CLIMATE SERVICE: In the Commerce, Justice, and Science
committee report, “It is the Committee’s intention that no funds shall be
used to create a Climate Service at NOAA.”
Forbid FWS from listing any endangered species
AMBITION V. AMBITION



“Many of us think that the overregulation from E.P.A. is at
the heart of our stalled economy,” Representative Mike
Simpson (R-ID)
“The new Republican majority seems intent on restoring
the robber-baron era where there were no controls on
pollution from power plants, oil refineries and factories,”
Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA)
”We are then going to be in a situation again where the
Senate and president face the question of whether they are
willing to shut down the government or appease a motley
group in the House over a spending bill,” he said. “No one
knows how that plays out.” David Goldston, director of
government affairs for the Natural Resources Defense
Council