Senator Tester Offers Coal Amendment to Energy Bill

Senator Jon Tester introduced Amendment 1614 to the Energy Bill to: “establish a program to provide loans for projects to produce syngas from coal and other feedstocks while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reliance of the United States on petroleum and natural gas.”

Tester’s amendment, which received mixed reactions from his Senate colleagues and from many conservation and environmental groups, was voted down in the Senate 61-33. 

As stated in previous editions of Congressional Watch, there are many concerns in the conservation/environmental community regarding the environmental affects resulting from increased coal extraction in Montana and other states with vast coal reserves.  Several conservation and environmental organizations also share concern over the efficacy of coal-to-liquid (CTL) development, which could produce twice the global warming pollution as conventional fuels.

Still, Senator Tester went the extra mile to ensure that any coal-to-liquid development would occur as responsibly as possible, in a difficult political environment.  Montana possesses 120 billion tons of coal reserves, and the Montana congressional delegation receives pressure from both ardent coal supporters and ardent opponents of coal production. 

Tester’s amendment aimed to provide safeguards and parameters for how coal-to-liquid technology should be developed, including federal grants and subsidies to new CTL plants that could produce coal-derived fuels at least 20% cleaner than conventional petroleum.   Though the coal lobby continues to vociferously espouse the notion of “clean” coal, they, and their backers in Congress, backed off this amendment because it set a high bar with respect to environmental protection. 

Many citizens and conservation and environmental organizations have applauded Senator Tester for his efforts to ensure that technology for carbon dioxide sequestration is thoroughly understood and proven before any CTL production facilities are constructed in the U.S. 

Urge Senator Tester to continue his strong, vocal support of homegrown, renewable, plant-based biofuels, and to strive to bring these fuels to fruition in the state. 

For more information on the pros/cons of coal-to-liquid technology and fact sheets regarding plant-based biofuel technology visit the websites of the following groups, which represent some of the organizations working to combat global warming and promote clean, renewable alternative energies:

Western Organization of Resource Councils
League of Conservation Voters
Sierra Club
Northern Plains Resource Council   
Natural Resource Defense Council  
Montana Environmental Information Center   
Montana Public Research Interest Group   

Also see the editorial opinion piece below from the Washington Post, that mentions Senator Tester’s proposed amendment: “Coal-to-Liquid Boondoggle: A risky solution to America's energy woes” (Monday, June 18, 2007)