Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill

The document lists 22 provisions of a U.S. energy bill that the authors claim fail to address global warming or oil dependence. Key criticisms include the provision of billions in subsidies to the nuclear and coal industries, the weakening of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, and the reduction of state authority over liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and transmission lines.

• The energy bill provides substantial financial support to traditional energy sectors, including billions of dollars for the nuclear industry—specifically a $2 billion risk insurance program for up to six new reactors—and over $6 billion in incentives to burn coal for electricity, including federal loan guarantees for at least 16 new coal-fired power plants.
• The bill weakens environmental protections by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act to allow unregulated underground chemical injection during oil, gas, and geothermal development, and by exempting oil and gas construction from certain Clean Water Act runoff requirements.
• The legislation reduces state and consumer protections by repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act, pre-empting state authority over the siting of LNG facilities and transmission lines, and limiting the liability of the nuclear industry by extending the Price Anderson Act for 20 years.
• The bill promotes expanded oil and gas exploration through provisions for underwater exploration, the rapid development of a commercial oil shale/tar sands leasing program, and the granting of oil leases on Alaska’s North Slope within the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

APA

Fox, A. (2008). Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2008-11-summary-of-the-harmful-provisions-in-the-energy-bill/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill. Friends of the Earth, 2008. https://foe.org/news/2008-11-summary-of-the-harmful-provisions-in-the-energy-bill/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=5 November 2008 |url=https://foe.org/news/2008-11-summary-of-the-harmful-provisions-in-the-energy-bill/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2008summary, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{Summary of the Harmful Provisions in the Energy Bill}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2008}, month = nov, url = {https://foe.org/news/2008-11-summary-of-the-harmful-provisions-in-the-energy-bill/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }