capitaleye.org reports (w/ numerous figures) how energy corporations are giving significant amounts to the lawmakers investigating the causes behind the NE blackout in August.
The 57 members of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, which opened hearings today looking into the causes of the worst blackout in U.S. history, have raised $7.2 million from the industry in their campaign accounts and leadership PACs since 1989. The committee members collected $2.3 million in the 2002 election cycle alone and have taken in more than $675,000 so far in the current cycle. The money was raised from electric utility employees and their families, and from industry political action committees.
And the EPA has only the best interests of the public in mind when advising Congress on changing existing policy.
Days after the changes in the power-plant pollution rule were announced last week, John Pemberton, the chief of staff in the EPA's air and radiation office, told colleagues he would be joining Southern Co., an Atlanta-based utility that's the nation's No. 2 power-plant polluter and was a driving force in lobbying for the rule changes. Southern Co., which gave more than $3.4 million in political contributions over the past four years while it sought the changes, hired Pemberton as director of federal affairs. Ed Krenik, who had been the EPA's associate administrator for congressional affairs, started work Tuesday at Bracewell & Patterson, a top Houston-based law firm that coordinated lobbying for several utilities on easing the power-plant pollution rule. The firm's Washington office also served as home base and shares staff with the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which was created by several utilities, including Southern Co., to be the public voice favoring the rule changes the EPA just enacted...
EPA chief spokeswoman Lisa Harrison said neither Pemberton nor Krenik played a major role in the rule changes, which allow more than 500 older power plants to upgrade without adding pollution-control devices. She said Pemberton "played a minimal role on (the rule change) in the past two and a half years." Krenik told Knight Ridder he had nothing to do with writing the rule; his duties were confined to selling it on Capitol Hill, where he has been promoting it for months. "If I was the person writing the rule, I would say you might have something to say about conflict," Krenik said. But others who are knowledgeable about the rule change said both men were key. Pemberton was one of three top people involved, said Bill Becker, the executive director of the State and Territorial Air Polluter Program Administrators, a Washington group that represents state and local air regulators.
"His role was significant and was huge," Becker told Knight Ridder. "Pemberton was the guy behind the scenes that worked very closely on this rule."
One former EPA official in a Republican administration agreed, but spoke only on the condition that he not be identified. "I find it incredible that Pemberton played only a minimal role, the official said."
Is it even remotely possible that the money spent buying their way out compliance might actually be less than the money spent implementing pollution controls? They raised my rates again...