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Some States Seek to Limit Env 02/18 09:49
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Some Republican legislators are looking to restrict
their state's ability to set environmental regulations, a move that comes as
President Donald Trump 's administration pushes to roll back environmental
rules on power plants, water and greenhouse gases.
The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business
groups that would prevent state agencies from setting restrictions on
pollutants and hazardous substances exceeding those set by the federal
government. In areas where no federal standard exists, the state could adopt
new rules only if there is a "direct causal link" between exposure to harmful
emissions and "manifest bodily harm" to humans.
Supporters said the Alabama measure would ground standards in "sound
science" and prevent regulatory overreach. Environmental groups said it would
cripple the state's ability to respond to environmental or health risks,
including a group of chemicals known as PFAS, or forever chemicals, that have
contaminated swaths of the South.
Sarah Stokes, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center,
said the bill sets an "impossible hurdle" for state regulations since the bill
specifies that an "increased risk of disease" is not enough to demonstrate harm
to humans.
"It's a blank check to businesses. We're basically sacrificing human health
for businesses," Stokes said. "That doesn't seem like the best calculation for
our citizens."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business groups supported the legislation,
and the bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Donnie Chesteen, told a legislative
committee this month that his bill is a "pro-business" piece of legislation.
"If we're going to be able to compete with states in the Southeast to
attract and bring some of these businesses in, then we need to have these
standards adopted so that it's clearly defined what our companies are working
with," Chesteen said. Supporters also argued the bill follows Trump's
deregulatory agenda.
"This does not remove the use of sound science and legitimate science,"
Republican Rep. Troy Stubbs said during debate. "What it does is protect
Alabama and the people of Alabama from runaway government that can become
overly burdensome and regulatory to a point that it drives the cost of living
way up."
Stubbs disputed that it would weaken existing rules, saying current state
regulations would stay in place. However, the environmental lawyer Stokes said
she is concerned that businesses could use it as a basis to challenge existing
rules.
The measure is the latest effort to restrict state-level environmental
regulations. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order last year saying
Indiana can't have new environmental rules stricter than federal ones unless
deemed necessary by state law or the governor. Tennessee lawmakers last year
passed legislation requiring any regulations that are more stringent than
federal regulations to be based on links to "manifest bodily harm in humans."
Stokes said the Alabama proposal goes farther than the Tennessee law. A
similar bill has been introduced in Utah.
Stokes said the Alabama legislation was introduced after advocacy groups
persuaded the Alabama Environmental Management Commission to consider updating
state standards for arsenic and cyanide and 11 other toxic pollutants.
Cara Horowitz, an environmental law professor and executive director of the
Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law,
said the legislation would prevent state agencies from making "independent
decisions about how much to protect public health from things like water
pollution, air pollution, and toxics."
"Alabama could adopt its own pollution standard only where the state's
rationale for doing so relies on a very particular kind of science," Horowitz
wrote in an email. "Alabama could not rely, for example, on studies showing a
correlation between pollution exposure and an increased risk of disease."
The bill also bars agencies from using the EPA's Integrated Risk Information
System, which characterizes the health hazards of chemicals found in the
environment, as the default basis for water quality standards. A lobbying group
for the chemical industry has criticized the system as overly burdensome and
scientifically flawed.
Democrats in the Alabama Legislature spoke against the bill for two hours
until GOP lawmakers voted to end debate and force a vote.
Democratic Rep. Chris England said the bill turns Alabama residents into
test subjects. "We are a petri dish for businesses to do as they will until
they kill people," England said.
Rep. Neil Rafferty, also a Democrat, said the bill is "defining sound
science just to gut our ability to use it to drive science-based and
data-driven policy."
The state House of Representatives voted 88-34 for the bill, which now goes
to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. Her office did not immediately respond to an email
seeking comment.
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