Green Groups Come Out Against Senate Energy Overhaul Bill

"Eleven major environment and conservation groups came out against a Senate energy policy overhaul bill on Monday.

The groups — a list that includes major players like the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters, among others — said there “several provisions in this bill that we believe could cause detrimental effects to public health and our environment.”

In a letter to Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the groups listed ten sections of the 357-page bill that they said put environmental causes at risk.

Among them are provisions to speed up permitting for liquefied natural gas exports and mining operations, a section repealing a fossil fuel phase-out for federal buildings and changes to hydropower regulations that they say could put fish and wildlife at risk. "
 
Devin Henry reports for The Hill July 27, 2015.