American Rivers reported today that the Senate, in a surprise move, passed a comprehensive energy bill by a vote of 84-14.
According to American Rivers:
In an agreement between the Republican and Democratic leadership, this year’s bill (S. 14) was replaced as a whole by unanimous consent with S. 517 from the 107th Senate.
The next step for S.14 will be the House-Senate conference committee where the two bills will be merged and then returned for an up or down vote by each chamber of Congress.
The Senate decision to switch the bills was forced due to the inability of the Senate leaders to achieve an agreement on the package in a timely manner allowing Senators to leave for the August recess. In order to reach this agreement, deals were cut with rank and file members. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) have been guaranteed the opportunity to debate global climate change. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) had concerns over the issue of market abuse by companies such as Enron, but Senate leadership has promised to address the issue in the conference committee.
The hydropower titles in both the Senate and House versions erode environmental standards and exclude the public, tribes, states, and other stakeholders. Under the House provision, only the dam owner can offer alternative environmental conditions or request a “trial-type hearing.” The title would also alter environmental standards for environmental conditions related to fish passage and federal lands protection; it explicitly provides that applicants can propose alternatives to fishways for dams that do not provide fish passage. The Senate title is only slightly better: it does not contain the trial-type hearing and is not as explicit in its rollback of fish passage standards.
It’s not too late to do something about this. You can contact your Senator and express your concerns about the hydro provisions in the bill! Changes can still be made in mark up,or the bill could be denied in the up and down vote.