More headlines: George W. Bush on Environment
(Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)
Texas has most out-of-compliance plants; but is improving
In a new tally of smog around the country, Texas had more than twice as many industrial plants violating clean air rules than any other state. EPA data showed that 93 plants in the smoggiest areas of Texas did not comply recently with regulations to
control volatile organic compounds - among the main ingredients in smog. Next on the list is Illinois, with 38 plants out of compliance in areas with persistent smog. A Bush spokesman questioned the validity of the report (An EPA official confirmed
that the study had used accurate data). But the spokesman said that if the numbers were accurate, they could be read another way to show that Texas has a higher percentage of compliance than many other states simply because it has so many industrial
facilities. The percentage of volatile organic compounds fell by over 43% from 1995-1997, more than twice the national average, the spoesman said, adding that a new smog proposed plan will cut pollutants by another 90 percent.
Source: Bill Lambrecht, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Oct 16, 2000
Work in partnership with states and landowners
Q: What will you do to protect the environment?BUSH: In Texas we reduced our industrial waste by 11%. We ought to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, with half the money going to states. We need to have clean coal technologies.
There’s a national petroleum reserve right next to Prudhoe Bay [that was good to open for its] gas reserves. There are practical things we can do. But it starts with working in collaborative effort with states. People care a lot about their land.
Source: Presidential Debate at Wake Forest
Oct 11, 2000
Texas record: cleaner air & water; toxic cleanup
Facts about Bush’s record on the environment:- Cleaner Air:Under Bush, Texas becomes only the 3rd state in the nation to require pollution reductions & permits from grandfathered utilities. They will reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by 50%
and sulfur dioxide emissions by 25% by 2003.
- <.b>Cleaning up Toxics:In just two years, Texas manufacturing facilities reduced their releases and disposal of toxics by 43 million pounds - a 14% reduction - more than all the other 49 states’ total
reduction combined.
- Cleaner Water:More than 96% of Texas public drinking water meets all standards, up from 88% in 1995. In 1999, Texas provided over $55 million for water quality and supply initiatives.
- More Environmental Spending:
Under Bush, state funding for natural resources increased 28% since 1994.
- State Superfund Program:Under Bush, 45 Superfund sites were cleaned and removed from the federal list. From 1985 to 1994, only 10 sites were cleaned up.
Source: Press Release, part of “Renewing America’s Purpose”
Apr 3, 2000
Pushed voluntary compliance in Texas instead of mandates
Early this summer, Bush signed a law to regulate outdated industrial plants that are among the heaviest polluters in Texas. Bush boasts that he is the first Texas governor “to ever have brought industry together and said, ‘Get into compliance.’”
Although state regulators had been considering mandatory restrictions on polluters, state documents indicate that Bush thought the approach should be voluntary and essentially asked industry leaders to draft such a proposal, which they did.
Source: New York Times, p. A1
Nov 9, 1999
Houston leads US in smog, but Texas is getting cleaner
This year, Houston was expected to pass Los Angeles as the nation’s smog leader. Pollution is not new to Texas, a heavily industrial state. So most Texans do not seem to blame Bush for the air problems. “You’ve got to ask, ‘Is the air cleaner
since I became governor?,’ ” Bush said in the spring. “And the answer is yes.” Compared with two decades ago, air quality has generally improved in Texas. Environmentalists, however, attribute the reductions to earlier state and federal initiatives.
Source: New York Times, p. A20
Nov 9, 1999
Supports voluntary contaminated waste cleanup.
Individuals, businesses and governments in a new voluntary program [in Texas] have helped clean up more than 200 contaminated sites during the past three years. Texas also works with bordering Mexican states to support air- and water-quality improvement
projects. We encourage such voluntary, innovative approaches in Texas. I appoint qualified board members to state agencies that.develop common-sense policies based on sound science that will best protect human health and the environment.
Source: www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/faq_index.html 12/31/98
Dec 31, 1998
Amend ESA; more flexibility; no unfunded mandates.
Bush supports the following principles regarding the environment:- Flexibility from the federal government in enforcing & funding environmental regulations.
- Urge Congress to amend the Endangered Species Act, to limit habitats eligible to be
designated endangered.
- Bush says environmental “decisions should be made at the local level” and that he is “against all unfunded federal mandates.”
- Bush says that “state environmental regulations should not be stricter than federal law.”
Source: Vote Smart NPAT 1998
Jul 2, 1998
Supports electric de-reg; pollution self-audits; recycling
Gov. Bush supports the following programs regarding the environment:- Restructure electric utilities to allow consumers to choose their power company
- Support “self-audit” incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution
-
Require cost/benefit analyses to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations
- Require full compensation when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land
- Provide funding for recycling programs
Source: Vote Smart NPAT 1998
Jul 2, 1998
Set standards based on science; and fine violators
Q: Do you think tougher laws are needed to protect our environment? A: I think we ought to have high standards set by agencies that rely upon science, not by what may feel good or what sound good. And I think it’s
important to give people time to say we’re going to conform to standards and if they don’t, I think we ought to fine them.
Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa
Jan 16, 2000
Clean up urban brownfields, in US as in Texas
Bush unveiled proposals yesterday for cleaning up hundreds of abandoned industrial sites. He touted successes in his home state at cleaning up more than 450 “brownfields”-- polluted and usually abandoned industrial sites that blight cities and
suburbs--while restoring $200 million to local property tax rolls. Bush prescribed flexible standards and technology as the best antidote for pollution and blight.
Source: Washington Post, p. A6
Apr 4, 2000
6-point plan for brownfield cleanup
Governor Bush today outlined a six-point agenda to reform efforts to clean up the environment by encouraging state and local efforts to clean and redevelop abandoned industrial sites, known as brownfields.- Direct the EPA to establish
high standards for brownfield cleanups that will provide more flexibility than the current Superfund standards
- Provide protection from federal liability at brownfields cleaned up under state programs that meet high federal standards
- Focus on developing cleanup techniques and new cleanup technologies
- Reform the Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund by cutting the red tape and block granting the funds to the states
- Extend permanently the Brownfield cleanup tax incentive
that is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2001
- Direct active federal facilities to comply with the environmental protection laws and hold them accountable.
Source: Press Release, part of “Renewing America’s Purpose”
Apr 3, 2000
Cooperate with industry, instead of lawsuits & regulations
Bush’s environmental record is [premised on his] relationship with industrial leaders. As an advocate of limited government, Bush said the best way to achieve clean air & water was “to work with local jurisdictions using market-based solutions and not
try to sue our way or regulate our way to clean air & water.” His aides say Bush has pursued a cooperative approach that emphasizes voluntary solutions instead of government mandates, balancing the needs of industry with the need for clean air & water.
Source: New York Times, p. A1
Nov 9, 1999