
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991                   TAG: 9102090167
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

ENERGY PLAN SHIRKS CONSERVATION

President Bush will submit an energy strategy to Congress that relies heavily on expanded oil production and a revival of nuclear power while providing few incentives for energy conservation, according to draft documents obtained Friday.

The administration's long-awaited national energy plan is expected to be sent to Capitol Hill later this month. A variety of energy measures stimulated by the Persian Gulf war already has been introduced, some of them stressing conservation measures.

"This isn't even an excuse for an energy policy," declared Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., after reviewing a draft legislative package circulated on Capitol Hill. "They've deleted everything that has anything to do with energy conservation."

According to the documents and government sources, the administration's energy package will include a renewed call "to stimulate oil production" in the United States. It calls for "responsible" development of offshore oil resources and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil exploration.

The energy package contains no mention of proposals to boost auto fuel efficiency, advocated by many members of Congress, nor major incentives to increase the production of renewable fuels such as solar or wind power - measures many lawmakers have characterized as essential.

Transportation accounts for about five-eighths of all energy used in the country, almost all of it from petroleum derivatives.

According to the documents, in addition to promoting new oil development, the administration plans to propose:

Easing the approval process for building natural gas pipelines.

Streamlining the licensing of nuclear power plants and easing impediments to developing a permanent storage site for high-level nuclear wastes.

Expanding oil production from the government's Naval Petroleum Reserve.

Bush will propose, according to the documents, only modest measures to foster increased energy conservation. Included, for example, are proposals for new standards and labeling requirements for lighting and other commercial products.

But the administration has rejected any proposed increases in the fuel economy standard for automobiles. It proposes, instead, that automakers be allowed to ease fuel economy standards if they opt to produce vehicles that are capable of running on both gasoline and other fuels.

"This weakens the current law," said Daniel Becker of the Sierra Club, who said it creates a loophole by which automakers for a modest cost can skirt the current 27.5 mpg fuel economy standard.

by CNB