For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 15, 2003
President Visits Detroit Edison Monroe Power Plant in Monroe, Michigan
Remarks by the President to Plant Employees and Local Community Leaders
In Focus: Energy
12:40 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Please be seated, unless
you don't have a seat. (Laughter.) Thanks for the warm welcome. I
appreciate the chance to come to this vital facility to meet the
workers who make it go, meet the planners who keep it modern, and meet
some of the people who benefit from the electricity that's generated
out of here.
I come knowing our nation faces some great challenges. The biggest
challenge we face is the security of our people. We've got to make
sure that America is secure from the enemies which hate us. And we've
got to make America secure by having an economy that grows so people
can find work. (Applause.)
On the first front, to make sure America is secure, we're making
good progress. The two years from September 11th -- we got hit, we got
hit by people who cannot stand what America believes in. We love
freedom. And we're not going to change. And they probably won't
either. Therapy won't work with this bunch. (Laughter and applause.)
So we will bring people to justice.
It doesn't matter how long it takes, America and many of our
friends will find those who would harm the American people and bring
them to justice. The only way to win the war on terror is to stay on
the offensive. We can do a lot of things here at home -- we can
support our first responders; we can make sure our law enforcement
agencies talk to each other; we can make sure our ports are more
secure, our borders are reasonable about understanding who is coming in
and why they're coming in. But the best way to make sure the homeland
is secure is to hunt these killers down, one by one, and bring them to
justice, which the United States of America will do. (Applause.)
As part of making sure America is secure, I laid out a doctrine
that said, if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you
hide a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists. To provide
money to terrorists, you're guilty, and we will hold you account. And
the Taliban found out what we meant. We gave an ultimatum to Mr.
Saddam Hussein. We said, get rid of your weapons. He ignored not only
the United States, but the civilized world. That regime is no more.
And one thing is for certain: no terrorist organization will ever get
a weapon of mass destruction from Mr. Saddam Hussein. (Applause.)
Our nation is more secure. The world is becoming more free and,
therefore, more peaceful. This nation yearns for peace. But we
understand the nature of the enemy. For those of you who have got
relatives in the United States military, I want to thank you for a
grateful nation. And you thank them on behalf of the
Commander-in-Chief and the people of this country for the sacrifices
they are willing to make on behalf of the rest of us.
Economic security is on my mind. I'm sure the numbers are
beginning to look better. But there's still people looking for work.
My attitude is, so long as somebody is looking for work, then we've got
to continue to try to create the conditions necessary for job growth.
We want our people working. We want the moms and dads to be able to
make a living, to be able to put food on the table for their children.
National security means economic security for every single
citizen. And one of the lessons we learned a while ago was that a
reliable, affordable electrical power is essential for economic growth
in America. It's an essential part of an economic plan. If you're
interested in creating jobs, you'd better have energy. You're not
going to have an economy grow without reliable sources of energy.
(Applause.)
Lights went out last month -- you know that. (Laughter.) It might
have been good for candle sales, but it certainly wasn't good for job
growth. It recognizes that we've got an issue with our electricity
grid, and we need to modernize it. We need to make sure it works in
the future. The first thing we're going to do is find out what went
wrong and address the problem. The Secretary of Energy, Spence
Abraham, right here from the state of Michigan, is leading that
investigation. We want the facts. We'll put the spotlight of truth on
the facts and then we'll deal with it. But also, it's clear that the
power grid needs an overhaul. It needs to be modernized. As we go
into an exciting new period of American history, we want the most
modern electricity grid for our people.
When I first got in in Washington, I put out a plan, a national
energy strategy. I felt like we needed an energy strategy for the
country. If energy is an issue, first of all you need a strategy and a
plan. And we laid one out. And part of that plan modernizes -- calls
for the modernization of the electricity grid. We need more
investment; we need research and development to make sure we're -- as
we invest new technologies, they're the latest and best for the people
of this country. We also want to make sure voluntary reliability
standards for utilities are now mandatory reliability standards. When
somebody says they're going to be reliable, we don't want it to be
maybe reliable or perhaps reliable, we want mandatory reliability
standards, so people can count on the deliver -- to have their
electricity delivered.
This is part of the plan I announced, as well as we've got to make
sure that the energy we use, we have the best technologies to make sure
we burn it as clean as we can. That's why I have a strong initiative
for clean coal technology. We want to make sure we encourage
conservation. But the truth of the matter is, we need to become less
dependent on foreign sources of energy. For the sake of economic
security -- (applause.)
We lead the world in new technologies when it comes to energy, and
we not only can find new ways of producing energy and make sure we do
so in an efficient way, we can make sure we do so in a clean way. You
know right here what I'm talking about at this plant. We lead the
world in technologies to make the production of energy cleaner. And so
therefore, I'm confident in predicting to the American people not only
can we promote job security and increase jobs, but we can do so in way
that protects our environment. And I believe we have a duty to do so.
I believe a responsible nation is one that protects the environment.
Yet the government sometimes doesn't help. And that's what I'm
here to discuss -- (laughter) -- those moments when the government
doesn't help, when the government stands in the way. For example,
power plants are discouraged from doing routine maintenance because of
government regulations. And by routine maintenance, I mean replacing
worn-out boiler tubes or boiler fans. And all that does is it makes
the plant less reliable, less efficient and not as environmentally
friendly as it should be.
So I changed those regulations, my administration did. And I'm
here to explain why we did, in a way that I hope the American people
can understand. Before I begin, I do want to thank Tony Earley for
that introduction. I just had a great tour of your facility, Tony, by
Paul -- Paul Fessler. He said to make sure I didn't bring up the
Michigan-Notre Dame game. (Laughter and applause.) So I won't bring
it up. (Laughter.)
I'm traveling today with Marianne Horinko who is the Acting
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She's a good,
common-sense lady. She's smart, she's capable, she understands that we
can grow our economy and protect the environment at the same time.
It's not one or the other, it's both. When we talk about environmental
policy in this Bush administration, we not only talk about clean air,
we talk about jobs. And I believe we can do both, and so does
Marianne. I want to thank you for your service. (Applause.)
And thank Paul for the tour. And I was joined on the tour by Mike
Smith, who is a senior union committeeman, Local 223. I appreciate
Mike taking me around and introducing me to some of the fellow workers
in the plants. At least the ones I met, morale seemed high. People
enjoy working here. You're providing a service. For all the workers
who work here, I want you to know you're providing an important
service. (Applause.) You're creating the conditions so people can find
a job. You're working hard to make sure somebody can turn on a light
switch and they can realize the comforts of modern life. Thanks for
what you do.
I'm also traveling today with members of the United States
Congress. Congresswoman Candice Miller and Congressman Fred Upton, I
want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate you being here.
(Applause.) We've got the Secretary of State, Terri Lynn Land with us;
the Attorney General, Mike Cox; the Speaker of the House, Rick Johnson;
members of the -- they're all working hard at the state level. I'm
glad they are here, too. And finally, Mayor Al is with us, the Mayor
of Monroe. (Applause.) Al Cappuccilli is here. Thank you, Mayor, for
being with us. You must be filling the potholes. (Laughter.) Picking
up the garbage. (Laughter.) That's the way to go.
Today, when I landed, I met Claire Jennings. Let me describe right
quick -- (applause.) It sounds like they know you, Claire.
(Laughter.) One of the things I try to do when I come to communities is
to herald those folks who are volunteering their own time to make the
world a better place. It's amazing the people I've been able to meet
in our country. We've got all kinds of people from all walks of life
taking time out to mentor a child or to take care of a -- somebody who
is lonely, to help heal a broken heart, surround somebody who hurts
with love. It's really the strength of our country. I'm proud of our
military. Intend to keep our military strong. But the strength of the
country is the heart and souls of our citizens; it's the willingness of
people to lend a helping hand. What Claire has done is she decided to
enhance the wildlife growth around this plant. She decided to make
this important facility a wildlife refuge, as well.
And it worked. It's a beautiful setting. It's a wonderful --
she's done a wonderful job, as have coworkers, in making sure the 800
acres here at the Monroe plant is spectacular to look at. And it will
leave behind something like a legacy for future generations.
So, Claire, I want to thank you for setting a good example. I'm
glad you brought your daughter, too. (Applause.)
I said as plainly as I could that I believe we can grow our economy
and protect the quality of our air at the same time. And we made
progress doing just that. Let me give you a statistic or two. Our
economy has grown 164 percent in three decades. That's pretty good
growth. And yet, according to a report that the EPA is releasing
today, air pollution from six major pollutants is down by 48 percent
during that period of time. So you nearly double your economy and yet
pollution is down by nearly 50 percent.
That should say to people that we can grow our economy, that we can
work to create the conditions for job growth, and that we can be good
stewards of the air we breathe. And this plant is a good example of
that achievement. Since 1974, the power generated from here has
increased by 22 percent. You've created more power, so more people can
live a decent life. And yet, the particulant matter emissions have
fallen by 80 -- 81 percent. You're good stewards of the quality of the
air, as well. You work hard in this plant to put energy on the grid,
and at the same time, you're protecting the environment.
There's reason for this progress, and it's because our nation made
a commitment; starting in the Clean Air Act of 1970, we set high
goals. We said this is a national priority. Let's work together to
achieve these priorities. And we are working together. This
administration, my administration strongly supports the Clean Air Act,
and I believe that by combining the ethic of good stewardship -- in
other words, convince people that it's an important goal -- and the
spirit of innovation, we will improve the quality of our air even
further. And at the same time, make sure people can find a job.
There is more to do, and so I want to talk about three ideas that
-- three common-sense steps that I put out to help us meet the new air
quality standards and further improve quality of life. I hope you find
that they make sense. They certainly do to me. They're common-sense
ways to deal with our environment.
First, we're going after the pollution that comes from diesel
vehicles. We worked with the energy companies and the agricultural
concerns and the manufacturers; we worked with environment groups; we
worked with union groups -- to come up with a common-sense policy. And
we did, we developed one. It's now being implemented. Oil companies
will lower the sulphur in diesel fuel. We'll enforce new emission
limits on diesel truck engines. And we're going to put forward new
rules that will control pollution from off-road vehicles like heavy
construction equipment.
The stakeholders came; we developed good policy. Everybody is on
board, and now we're headed toward a cleaner -- cleaner quality of air
for all Americans.
Secondly, I proposed what's called Clear Skies legislation. Again,
you heard the CEO talk about this legislation. Clear Skies legislation
will help cut power plant emissions, without affecting job growth
and/or jobs at this plant. We're interested in reducing the nitrogen
oxide, sulphur dioxide in mercury, coming out of the power plants
around America. We've put forth a plan, we brought people in a room,
we discussed it with them. The stakeholders agreed; union workers --
union leaders have agreed; utilities have agreed; manufacturing
companies have agreed to a plan that will reduce those three key
pollutants by 70 percent over a reasonable period of time.
We've got an interesting approach -- it's been tried in the past,
it's a cap and trade system. We put mandatory caps on emissions. It's
a little different look than maybe you're used to. Instead of the
government telling utilities where and how to cut pollution, we will
work with them to create a cap, how much to cut, and when we expect it
cut by, but you figure out how. You're a lot better in figuring out
the how than people in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
Each year each facility will need a permit for each ton of
pollution it emits. Companies that are able to reduce their pollution
below the amount can sell the surplus to others that need more time to
meet the national goal and the national standard. In other words,
there's an incentive system built into it. The system makes it
worthwhile for companies to invest earlier in controls, and therefore,
pollute less. It ensures that high standards are met in a common-sense
way that is cost- effective and saves jobs. And under the legislation,
communities that have had trouble meeting air quality standards will
finally have a clear and a more effective method to get them help.
I'm going to be talking about this tomorrow at the White House.
I'll be doing it in Washington because I expect Congress to act.
Instead of playing politics with environmental legislation, we need to
come together and do what's right for American workers and American
families. Clear Skies is good, sound legislation and needs to be
passed. (Applause.)
Finally, I want to speak to one other matter. It's called New
Source Review. We need to fix those -- and have -- we're in the
process of fixing what they call New Source Review regulations. After
I explain it, I think it will make sense as to why we're doing it.
The old regulations, let me start off by telling you, undermined
our goals for protecting the environment and growing the economy. The
old regulations on the books made it difficult to either protect the
economy or -- protect the environment or grow the economy. Therefore,
I wanted to get rid of them. I'm interested in job creation and clean
air, and I believe we can do both.
One of the things we've got to do is encourage companies to invest
in new technologies, convince utilities to modernize their equipment,
so that they can produce more energy and pollute less. In other words,
as technologies come on, we want to encourage companies to make
investment in those technologies.
Yet old regulations, the ones we're change -- changing, actually
discourage companies from even making routine repairs and replacing old
equipment. That's the reality. Regulations intended to enhance air
quality made it really difficult for companies to do that which is
necessary, to not only produce more energy, but to do it in a cleaner
way.
Power plants and companies wanted to make one change they could
afford. The regulators could come in and order them to change
everything, making every change a massive, multi-year battle. That's
the reality here at Monroe plant. The people who are trying to
modernize this plant and do their job on behalf of the people of
Michigan found out that the regulations were so complex that they could
be interpreted any different way. And that's what happened. And when
you have complex regulations that are open for interpretation, guess
what happens? The lawyers come in. (Laughter.) And then you have
litigation, and then things grind to a standstill.
So a lot of planners and people who were charged with providing
electricity and to protect the air decided not to do anything. They
didn't want to have to fight through the bureaucracy or fight through
the endless lawsuits. And when that happens, fewer power plants are
upgraded; they become old and tired -- which means people start losing
their jobs; which means our economy is not robust so people can find
work if they're looking for work; which means in some cases, energy
costs are higher than they should be.
And so we decided to do something about it, I did. It's been in
the process for a while, and I decided to move, particularly when I
heard stories like this one here at Monroe. In 1999, Detroit Edison
made a decision to upgrade the turbine steam generators here. That's a
vital decision. For the men and women who work at that plant, you
understand, when I say vital decision, that it is a vital decision.
The company wanted to give more efficient -- wanted this plant to
have new, efficient blades on the turbines, which will allow more
electricity to be generated with the same amount of coal without
causing emission increases. It seems like a common-sense policy. If I
were running this plant, I would want to modernize it so it could
produce more energy for the same amount of input, and continue doing a
good of protecting the quality of the air. That's the kind of
corporate behavior that I appreciate.
Yet, when the company took the plan to the EPA, the first thing
that happened is they had to wait a year for an answer. (Laughter.)
They said, we've got a good way to do something, but please, tell us if
we can move forward. And the answer wasn't forthcoming. And when the
answer did come back, it was so complicated, because the rules are so
complicated, that Detroit Edison decided to delay part of the project
until its experts could decipher the details of the ruling. On the one
hand, the rules are so complex that the answer coming back was even
more complex, evidently, because nothing happened for a while.
Now, finally, the project is going to be complete. Detroit Edison
decided to move forward, five years after it decided to begin. That's
inefficient. That doesn't make any sense. The quicker we put modern
equipment into our power plants, the quicker people are going to get
more reliable electricity. If we're interested in job creation in
America, we'd better have the most modern facilities to make sure that
electricity is available, so people can expand their job base. And yet
the rules didn't let that happen. The rules created too many hurdles,
and that hurts the working people.
And so, as I said, we decided to do something about it. We began
to review the old rules and regulations. And we wanted to do so in a
careful way. The EPA held five public meetings. More than 100 groups
were represented, citizens and industry and local officials. There
were thousands of comments. In other words, we said, if you've got a
problem with the change, please bring them forward; or you support the
change, bring them forward. We wanted to hear from people. And the
EPA did a good job of collecting data.
In December, we issued the first set of rules to clarify and
simplify regulations for manufacturers to do projects in an
energy-efficient way and to promote policy that would discourage
pollution. And now we've issued new rules that will allow utility
companies, like this one right here, to make routine repairs and
upgrades without enormous costs and endless disputes. We simplified
the rules. We made them easy to understand. We trust the people in
this plant to make the right decisions. (Applause.)
There is a lot of debate about New Source Review -- the change of
New Source Review. It makes sense to change these regulations. It
makes sense for the workplace environment; it makes sense for the
protection of our air. Not only do I believe that, but union leaders
believe that, manufacturers believe that, the utilities believe that, a
bipartisan coalition in Congress believes it. We have done the right
thing.
Monroe plant is a living example of why we acted. The people at
this plant wanted to put the most modern equipment, use the most modern
technology to make the people of Michigan got energy at a reasonable
and affordable price, and at the same time protect the environment.
Government policy prevented them from doing so. We have changed the
government policy for good of the people of this country. (Applause.)
I mentioned the challenges we face, but I'm an optimist, because I
understand America. It's been my privilege to see the character of the
American people. We are resolute. We're plenty tough when we have to
be touch. We're also compassionate. Ours is a resourceful nation; we
set goals and we work together to achieve those goals. Ours is a
nation that when we hear that somebody is looking for work and can't
find work, cares about that person.
I want to make sure this environment, economic environment of ours
is as healthy as it can be. The American people have got to understand
a healthy economic environment means we'd better have energy; we'd
better be producing that energy, there's electricity, so people can
expand their manufacturing facilities. If you've got an issue with the
manufacturing base, you'd better make sure you've got a reliable supply
of energy for the manufacturers, like they've got here in Michigan.
We can overcome problems. We're smart and resourceful people.
We're also a compassionate people, people who are willing to love a
neighbor just like we love ourselves. That's what I love most about
America. (Applause.) I love the fact that there are people who hurt
-- I love the fact that when somebody is hurting in your neighborhood,
you're likely to walk across the street and say, what can I do to
help? It's a fabulous country we have.
Oh, yes, we've got problems. There's no doubt in my mind, because
of the character of the American people, we can overcome any problem
that's in our way.
I want to thank you all for coming out today and may God bless
you. And may God continue to bless America. (Applause.)
END 1:10 P.M. EDT
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