Environmental Accomplishments

For Senator Inhofe, environmental progress and a strong economy go hand in hand. From clean air and water legislation, to promoting Oklahoma environmental programs, to progress at the Tar Creek Superfund site, Senator Inhofe demonstrated how to work across the aisle to achieve real environmental progress, while helping to grow the economy.

Bipartisan Clean Diesel Bill Reauthorization: Sen. Inhofe, working closely with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), former Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), helped pass the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010 (DERA), which was signed into law this January. DERA is a model of bipartisan legislation, as it strikes the appropriate balance between continuing the nation’s, and Oklahoma’s, success in reducing emissions without putting jobs and small businesses at risk. Further, this bill reduces DERA’s 2005 authorization levels, which means it’s fiscally sound. Link

Removing Lead From Drinking Water: Sen. Inhofe helped pass bipartisan legislation to strengthen standards for lead in drinking water; it was also signed into law early this year. The bill will uniformly reduce the allowable lead content in drinking water pipes, pipe fittings and plumbing fixtures without imposing a burden on America’s manufacturers. Link

Making the Federal Government Pay for their Fair Share of Stormwater Pollution: Sen. Inhofe worked with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, to enact S. 3481, bipartisan legislation to help local governments pay for costly unfunded federal mandates. The bill, which was signed into law this January, requires that federal agencies pay their fair share of stormwater management fees, has the support of numerous state (including Oklahoma) and local government associations. Link

Partners for Fish and Wildlife: Senator Inhofe has long been supportive of land conservation bills that promote a collaborative rather than punitive partnership between the federal government and landowners. In the 109th Congress, he sponsored the Partners in Fish and Wildlife Act—a bill that provides assistance to private landowners to proceed with voluntary projects that will benefit federal trust species by promoting fish and wildlife habitat restoration on private land. That Partners Program has developed more than 41,000 private-landowner agreements, resulting in positive ecological and economic effects on tens of thousands of acres nationwide, including nearly 800,000 acres of wetlands, nearly 2 million acres of grassland and prairie habitat, and over 7,000 miles of in-stream habitat. Link

Environmental Education: On April 27, 2010, Sen. Inhofe asked Grove Valley Elementary School Principle, Debbie Straughn, to testify regarding the outdoor classroom created at Deer Creek Elementary, utilizing the Private Partners Program—a program that incentivizes partnerships between private landowners and the federal government to restore habitats. In her testimony Straughn said, “The outdoor classroom provides an ideal structured leaning for the children and promotes ideal wildlife habitat... The outdoor habitat gave children an interactive learning environment.” Link