“Bills will promote energy security and strengthen environmental protection” Washington, D.C.—The Committee on Environment and Public Works today approved nominations and passed several pieces of environmental legislation, including the Price Anderson Amendments Act of 2003, the Reliable Fuels Act, the Mercury Reduction Act of 2003, and the Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 2003. “These bills are important pieces of the committee’s agenda,” said EPW Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.). “They will help promote energy security and strengthen environmental protection for all Americans.” The Price Anderson Amendments Act of 2003 (S. 156) would amend the Price-Anderson Act to reauthorize mandatory indemnification of certain licensees with respect to nuclear incidents until August 1, 2012, and reauthorize the mandate for certain reports to Congress by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Secretary of Energy relating to possible modifications of Price-Anderson until August 1, 2008. The Reliable Fuels Act (S. 791) would eliminate the Clean Air Act’s oxygenate requirement for reformulated gasoline, replace it with a renewable fuels mandate and require the use of 5 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline by 2012. The Mercury Reduction Act of 2003 (S. 616) prohibits the sale of mercury in thermometers unless by prescription. According to the Mercury Study Report, prepared by EPA and submitted to Congress in 1997, mercury fever thermometers contribute approximately 17 tons of mercury to solid waste each year. The Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 2003 (S. 515) expands the duties of the EPA Ombudsman to include assisting citizens in resolving problems relating to any program or requirement under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as any other program administered by the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. This bill will help establish the independence of the EPA Ombudsman. *To obtain a copy of these bills, go to thomas.loc.gov Nominations Approved: Richard Moore to be TVA Inspector General R.D. James to be Member of the Mississippi River Commission Rear Admiral Richard Prahl to be Member of the Mississippi River Commission Robert Boldrey to be Member of the Morris K. Udall Foundation Richard Narcia to be Member of the Morris K. Udall Foundation Bradley Udall to be Member of the Morris K. Udall Foundation Herbert Guenther to be Member of the Morris K. Udall Foundation Malcolm Bowekaty to be Member of Morris K. Udall Foundation John Paul Woodley, Jr. to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, Dept. of the Army Legislation Approved: H.R. 145, Ted Weiss Federal Building S. 703, Carl T. Curtis National Park Service Midwest Regional Headquarters Building S. 763, Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse S. 616, Mercury Reduction Act H.R. 289, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex Expansion and Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Expansion S. 515, Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 2003 S. 163, Environmental Policy and Conflict Resolution Advancement Act of 2003 S. 156, Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2003 S. 791, Reliable Fuels Act