Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) has prepared legislation to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to waive environmental regulations for 120 days if it "is necessary to respond, in a timely and effective manner, to a situation or damage related to Hurricane Katrina." EPA released a statement last week supporting Inhofe's bill: "As we respond to Katrina, we anticipate situations where additional legal authority would help us facilitate more timely cleanup and reconstruction of areas devastated by the hurricane." [1]

Prepared for a backlash from environmentalists, Inhofe warned in a statement that "Those who seek to criticize this legislation under the guise of environmental concerns have it backwards as the use of the authority is specifically to protect public health."

But Inhofe's plan has been widely criticized by both environmentalists and congressional Democrats. Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT), who sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said of the bill, "If adopted, this waiver could undermine public health protections. We should be focusing our energy on protecting the health and safety of people impacted by this hurricane, not paving the way for an environmental disaster." [2]

"This could become a blank check for big polluters," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. [3]

Prompting further concern from the environmental community is a proposal by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, Joe Barton (R-TX), to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and off the coasts of several states.

With nearly 1.5 million barrels per day coming out of the Gulf Coast, the region accounts for approximately 29 percent of U.S. oil production. [4]

Barton's solution is to drill in ANWR and increase offshore drilling in other states. "Twenty-five percent of our domestic oil production is in the Gulf of Mexico. It doesn't have to be that way. We could be drilling in Alaska right now. We could be drilling off the coasts of several other states," said Barton. [5]

Environmentalists strongly disagree, pointing out that the U.S. produces only 39% of the oil it consumes. The rest is imported. As for ANWR, it would take some 10 years before any of its oil becomes available.

"If anything, Katrina has spotlighted the increasing perils of our heavy dependence on oil," said Jim DePiso, policy director for Republicans for Environmental Protection America (REP America). "There is no prospect whatsoever that opening the Arctic Refuge and protected offshore areas to drilling would assist the nation's energy supply and price vulnerabilities."

Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), pointed out that "There are safer, cheaper, faster ways to address our energy security crisis."

NRDC and many others have long called for stronger vehicle mileage standards, since automobiles represent 40 percent of U.S. oil consumption. "Raising fuel economy performance standards for SUVs and other light trucks by just 1 mile per gallon per year over five years would save a million barrels of oil per day by 2020," reads an NRDC press release in response to Barton's call for more drilling.

The administration and Congress have repeatedly refused to enact even a small increase in auto fuel efficiency.

[1] "Agency Welcomes Inhofe's Hurricane Bill," E&E Daily, Sept. 16, 2005

[2] "Senator Wants EPA Rules Eased for Katrina," Washington Post, Sept. 15, 2005

[3] "Waive EPA Rules for Katrina? Senator Wants To," Associated Press, Sept. 16, 2005

[4] "Short-Term Energy Outlook," Energy Information Administration, Sept. 7, 2005

[5] "Committee to Examine Hurricane Katrina's Impact on U.S. Energy Supply, Price of Gasoline," Sen. Joe Barton's website, Aug. 31, 2005

[6] "As Katrina Oil Spills Mount, Congress Calls for More Coastal Drilling," Sept. 15, 2005, NRDC website