Rick Lazio on Environment
Clean up toxic areas with new Superfund legislation
Q: What will you do for those in danger from toxic dumping? A: As a strong environmentalist, as somebody who has written legislation to address acid rain in the Adirondacks and the clean-up of Long Island Sound, as somebody who cares about the
watershed and as somebody who cares about this issue, I believe it’s incredibly important for us to re-authorize Superfund legislation to make sure that we have the resources that are necessary to clean up some of these sites.
Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY
Sep 13, 2000
Balance prosperity and conservation
The environment that surrounds us is one of our greatest assets as a nation but and also one of our gravest responsibilities. I believe that one of the most important legacies that I can leave for my children and the future generations of our great
republic is the preservation of that resource. The balance of prosperity and conservation is at best difficult and always controversial in a nation that was built on the premise of unfettered rights of the individual.
Source: Issues Briefing, www.lazio.com
May 4, 2000
Require reduced sulfur emissions from gasoline
The sulfur in gasoline poisons a car’s emissions control equipment, making it less effective in cutting harmful air pollutants like carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. In other words, the catalytic converters we all paid for when we
bought our cars and trucks are being ruined through no fault of our own. This is because the amount of sulfur in the US gasoline supply is very high, averaging around 345 parts per million. By comparison, gasoline in Japan & Europe averages about 30
parts per million. Lazio [sponsored] a bill requiring a 30 parts per million average for the nation’s gasoline supply. Implementing this requirement would result in the equivalent of removing the emissions of 54 million cars. Since this bill was
introduced, BP Amoco announced a pilot program selling low sulfur fuels in their premium grade in Chicago and Atlanta. The company plans to begin marketing them in Chicago by spring 2001 and the prices will be equivalent to conventional gas prices.
Source: Issues Briefing, www.lazio.com
May 4, 2000
End “Mountain Top Removal” mining practice
Lazio led the charge against the so-called “Mountain Top Removal” mining practice. With this practice, West Virginia coal mining companies are blowing up the tops of the mountains and pushing the rubble into valley bottoms, thus polluting the mountain
streams. Although this is a clear violation of the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Senator Byrd and others tried to attach a rider to last year’s appropriations bills to authorize this destructive practice. Arguing
that opposing anti-environmental riders should apply regardless of whether their party affiliation, Lazio convinced the White House to oppose the rider. When Lazio learned that elements within the EPA were trying to rewrite the regulations to
allow this practice, he organized a coalition which warned the administration against doing administratively what they had opposed legislatively.
Source: Issues Briefing, www.lazio.com
May 4, 2000
More emission controls; more air & water standards
Lazio supports the following principles regarding the environment:- Strengthen the Clean Water Act.
- Encourage development of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline or diesel powered
engines, including cars and trucks.
- Impose stricter national air quality standards.
- Strengthen the restrictions on clear-cutting on federal lands.
Source: National Political Awareness Test 1998 (vote-smart.org)
Jul 2, 1998
More grazing & mining fees; promote pollution credits
Lazio supports the following principles regarding environmental economics: - Increase fees charged to ranchers who graze cattle on federal lands.
- Revise the 1872 mining law to increase the fees charged to mining companies using federal lands.
- Promote the selling of pollution credits between nations to encourage industries to decrease pollution levels.
Source: National Political Awareness Test 1998 (vote-smart.org)
Jul 2, 1998