A History of Unresponsiveness To Congressional Requests on NSR

On December 14, 2001, seven Senators on the Environment and Public Works committee wrote to EPA asking for their analysis of the impact of the proposed rules. An identical letter to the Department of Energy was sent on December 19, 2001. Over the following year, EPA made 10 separate submissions, each of which failed to provide deliberative documents analyzing the impact of the NSR rule changes on public health and the environment. In addition, DOE provided no documents related to the impact of the EPA rulemaking on public health and the environment.

On February 11, 2002, Congressman John Dingell, Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, wrote to Administrator Whitman requesting that changes to the NSR program be assessed through an open and public process, allowing input from all interested particles, notice and opportunity for comment, and a clear explanation of the basis for decisions.

On February 21, 2002, 107 members of Congress wrote to Administrator Whitman, requesting an opportunity for public comment on the NSR proposal, and urging the Administrator not to finalize rules that would increase air pollution.

On March 1, 2002, 11 Senators wrote to Administrator Whitman urging her to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the NSR changes being considered at that time, and stressing that information made public in the record for proposals considered in 1996 and 1998 could not serve as an adequate basis for final regulatory action.

On July 16, 2002, before a joint EPW-Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Jeffords asks Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Jeffrey Holmstead, to quantify the rule changes’ impacts on public health. Mr. Holmstead did not provide the requested information.

On August 1, 2002, forty-four Senators asked EPA to "conduct a rigorous analysis of the air pollution and public health impacts of the proposed rule changes and give the public full opportunity to comment on these changes," before finalizing the regulations. Further, these 44 Senators urged EPA not to finalize a rule that "undercuts the health of any of America’s children or seniors." EPA has provided no health-reated analysis for either the finalized or the proposed.

On September 3, 2002, before the Public Health Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Jeffrey Holmstead, U.S. EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation told Senators that the agency would not supply an analysis of the impacts of the proposed changes, or an opportunity for public comment, before finalizing the rules.

On, September 26, 2002, Senator Jeffords, for the second time, postponed a vote to subpoena the documents based on EPA and DOE promises to respond to the pending request from December 2001 by no later than October 24, 2002.

On October 25, 2002, indicated that it would not comply with the December 2001 request for analysis. Among other things, the promised documents were to include a log of deliberative documents and materials relevant to the rulemaking. This log is among the documents that have still not been received despite this promise.

On December 20, 2002, Senators Jeffords and Lieberman again wrote to EPA Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Holmstead and requested answers to the questions posed to him during the July EPA/Judiciary Committee hearing. No response has been received.