Posts Tagged ‘ senate bill 80 ’

Greenhouse Gas And Bottle Bills Move Forward

April 28, 2009
By

The update of Oregon’s Bottle Bill was sent to the House floor this afternoon, but not without a concession to grocery stores.  House Bill 2184 adds several new beverages to the bottle bill list.  It also raises the refund from five cents to ten cents, if Oregonians don’t meet certain recycling goals.  The Environment and Water Committee approved it on a 5-2 party line vote.

Grocers want to create a statewide system of redemption centers, so that they don’t have to handle so many bottle returns.  A dispute over which stores would have to accept returns, and how many, was dropped to help the bill pass.

As for the Greenhouse gas legislation, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved it on a 3-2 party line vote.  Senate bill 80 puts into place plans to reduce greenhouse emissions in the state over the next 40 years.  It was forwarded to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, meaning a floor vote is still in doubt.

Bottle Bill And Greenhouse Gas Reductions Go Before Lawmakers

April 28, 2009
By

Two major pieces of green legislation get another chance in Salem today.

The bottle bill, House Bill 2184, goes before the House Environment and Water Committee this afternoon.  Katy Daily of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters thinks there’s a good chance it’ll be approved today.  The latest version adds several beverages to the bottle refund list starting in 2013, including sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice and similar non-carbonated beverages.  Meanwhile, Oregonian will have to do a better job of recycling or returning bottles.  If we don’t hit an 80% recycle/return rate in the next few years, the deposit increases to ten cents per bottle.

Odds are improving that the greenhouse gas reduction bill, Senate Bill 80, gets a vote this afternoon.  The latest version includes language that might provide some relief to opponents.  It allows the Public Utility Commission, and utilities, to back away from plans to reduce emissions if the costs are so high they’re not “economically feasible”.   The earlier version used an “extreme economic hardship” standard.

Greenhouse Gas Bill Remains On Hold

April 23, 2009
By

Within the hour, we got word that the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee won’t be voting on greenhouse gas reductions today. Instead, Senate Bill 80 will be carried over until next week. There are some minor changes in the bill’s language that are still being worked out.

Jake Weigler of Healthy Climate Partnerships says even with these changes, the bill is very similar to the version we reported on about two weeks ago. He’s still optimistic the committee will approve the bill in its current form but says things will be harder if it gets before the Ways and Means Committee or the full Senate.

See: Global Warming Battle Returns To Salem Thursday

Thursday’s Enviro Agenda In Salem

April 23, 2009
By

Three big environmental projects in Salem today, starting with…

Greenhouse gas reductions:

The big event of the day comes this afternoon when the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee resumes work on a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Senate Bill 80, utilities and transportation companies have to find ways to reduce emissions and help the state reach the goals agreed upon in the 2007 legislature. Those goals are reducing emissions at least 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and at least 75% below 1990 levels by 2050. Factories, and other “stationary” sources of greenhouse gas would get a five year break to develop a voluntary program.

Business groups have lobbied hard against the bill, warning that the costs of meeting these goals will hurt the state’s economy and cost jobs. Considering the current economic situation, it’s no surprise that their arguments are getting striking home with legislators. There were more behind the scene talks this week on a possible compromise.

Updating The Bottle Bill:

Read more »

Climate Change Bill Returns To Center Stage

April 14, 2009
By

The mother of all environmental bills is back for another round in Salem today.

Senate Bill 80, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon, goes before the Environment and Natural Resources Committee this afternoon.  The stakes are high with supporters saying it’s time for Oregon to finally take action to bring down emissions, and opponents warning it will costs billions to implement and hurt the state’s economy.

During testimony last Thursday, the representitive from PGE said it would cost them about $7 billion to meet the goals and that electric rates would increase 75-100% by 2020.  In today’s Oregonian, the utility claims the costs are even higher, putting them at more than $12 billion with rate increases of 120%.

Read more »

Oregon Climate Change Debate: Leadership Vs. Going It Alone

April 10, 2009
By

Depending on who you believe….

If Oregon moves ahead with greenhouse gas reductions, it will cement our role as a leader on green issues, grow our renewable energy businesses and create jobs, and helps Oregonians save money because we’ll learn to conserve energy.

Or… moving ahead before the rest of the country is risky, raising the cost of doing business and puts Oregon companies at a disadvantage, drives up the price of electricity and threatens jobs.

These are the central arguments before and against Senate Bill 80, legislation that sets in motion a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon. Members of the Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee listened to witnesses on both sides of the debate during Thursday’s hearing, but took no action. The hearing will continue next week.

SB 80 gives large utilities and transportation companies about 18 months to work with state agencies on plans to lower greenhouse gases. Heavy industry gets about five years to work on a voluntary plan. The goal is to reduce emissions 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 75% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The most dire warnings came from PGE and Pacific Power, who said the bill would cost them billions of dollars and dramatically raise power rates. Dave Robertson of PGE said to meet these goals they’d have to shut down some power plants and build new ones at cost of about $7 billion. He said customers would see their bill jump 75-100% by the year 2020.

Marcy Putnam with IBEW local 125 also argued against the bill. Her union has hundreds of members working at older power plants in economically depressed areas of the state. She’s worried that the bill will force these plants to close and jobs will be lost. She warned that if the state adopts such a plan before the rest of the country, “Oregon is on this path by itself.”

Many of the witnesses opposed to the bill said a national solution was the way to go and Oregon should wait for Congress to approve a greenhouse gas reduction law.

But environmentalists said it was time for Oregon to show leadership on global warming. Andrea Durbin of the Oregon Environmental Council praised the bill for its flexibility because it gives each major sector a chance to develop its own plan. “We’re not going to see action in Oregon until we have a process for moving forward,” she said.

Dennis Wilde of Gerding Edlen rejected the notion that helping the environment will hurt the economy. He said they are not competing goals and that the bill will focus investments in clean energy. “We believe this bill,” said Wilde, “will help push Oregon towards a strong renewable economy.”

Witnesses from renewable energy companies said the bill would help them grow their businesses and that as more clean energy sources become available, Oregon could meet those goals without economic hardship.

To leave a comment, please click on the “Continue reading” link.

Read more »

Global Warming: No Vote Today

April 9, 2009
By

There will be no action on Senate Bill 80 today. Chairman Dingfelder says the hearing will be held over until next week. Meanwhile today’s testimony is wrapping up.

Global Warming Hearing: Part One

April 9, 2009
By

We’re watching today’s hearing on Senate Bill 80, legislation that will put Oregon on a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

The bill tells agencies and industry to develop plans that will meet goals of reducing emissions at least 10% below 1990 levels by the year 2020, and at least 75% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Part of the discussion includes an ongoing argument over whether mandating these goals is a “hard cap” (a term used by opponents) or something else.

Here’s what witnesses are telling the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Andrea Durbin, Oregon Environmental Council, Supporter:

  • She says the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the 2007 Legislature are a good first step but, “We’re not going to see action in Oregon until we have a process for moving forward.” She believes the bill will make sure Oregon industry will be more competitive in a “carbon restrained world.”

Dave Robertson, Portland General Electric, Opponent:

  • He says the bill will force PGE to close some power plants and build new ones, costing consumers $7 billion. Robertson says that could nearly double power bills by 2020. “A hard cap,” says Robertson, “is something we simply can’t accept.”

Tim Miller, Green Lite Motors, Supporter:

  • Miller’s company is a start up that builds electric vehicles. He says EVs will help Oregon meet these reduction goals, noting that the state already has some EV manufacturers and other big companies such as Nissan and Think may build factories here, “The demand is here and the products are coming.”

Jennifer Hudson, Ash Grove Cement, Opponent:

  • She says Ash Grove is the only cement manufacturer in Oregon. Located in Baker County, the plant employees more than 100 people and provides about 20% of the county’s tax base. She says if Oregon moves forward alone on global warming, it will put her plant and the state’s economy at a disadvantage. She says the state should wait for Congress to create a national plan.

To leave comments, please click on the “Continue reading” link.

Read more »

Global Warming Battle Returns To Salem Thursday

April 8, 2009
By

Of all the environmental bills before lawmakers this session, this is the big one.

Senate Bill 80 would officially start Oregon on the difficult journey of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The goal is to reduce emissions at least 10% below 1990 levels by the year 2020, and at least 75% below 1990 levels by 2050.

But when the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee meets Thursday afternoon, it’ll be asked to consider something quite different from the original version it looked at more than two months ago.

Here’s what’s been happening behind the scenes.  For weeks, environmental groups and industry have been trying to find some sort of compromise.  But Jake Weigler of Healthy Climate Partnership says that by Monday, it was clear a compromise wasn’t going to happen.

So now environmental groups have moved on to a new version of SB 80, one they hope will make it easier for the controversial bill to pass.

Here’s what’s in their latest proposal:

  • Creates a Climate Coordinating Council that oversees state government efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.
  • Requires large publicly traded utilities, like PGE and Pacific Power, to reduce emissions in line with the 2020 and 2050 goals.  Gives them about 18 months to work with the Public Utilities Commission to come up with a plan.  The transportation sector would have to take similar mandatory steps to cut greenhouse gases.
  • But other industry, such as factories, would have five years to develop a voluntary greenhouse reduction plan to meet the 2020 and 2050 goals.

Another big change from the original version of SB 80 is that this plan doesn’t include a trading system where companies that are having trouble meeting the goals could buy credits from companies that are ahead of schedule.  Oregon would pull out from a regional trading system under consideration by the Western Climate Initiative.

The public hearing before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee starts at 3pm in Hearing Room  C.