NO FUEL LIK1 \\ OLD FOSSIL III! sM 



Ml Ill.WOI. AND COAL COMBUSTION 



In June, Hechler designated Emery to chair a hearing on the feasi- 

 bility i>t using methanol, made from coal or forest and other waste 

 products, as a fuel. It was brought out that additional R & 1). work 

 might help make the production of methanol more attractive 

 economically. 



In July, Myers was chosen as temporary chairman of the subcom- 

 mittee hearings on coal combustion R. & D. In three days of hearings, 

 the subcommittee inquired into the use of scrubbers to control emis- 

 sions, coal preparation and beneficiation, fluidized bed furnaces, and Hue 

 gas dcsulfurization. In its hearings, the subcommittee stressed the need 

 for greater emphasis on near-term energy R. & D., specifically the use 

 of coal-oil slurries. Subsequently, ERDA funded a program in this area 

 at the Pittsburgh Research Center. The subcommittee also expressed 

 an interest in broadening the application of fluidized bed technology 

 research beyond the electric utility market, to apply to smaller, 

 industrial size units. This was done bv ERDA. Additional subcommit- 

 tee hearings on near-term energy R. & D. were held in January 1976. 



OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF R. & D. 



In July 1975, the subcommittee started hearings on a program of 

 R. & D. to assist in the exploration of oil and gas on the Outer Con- 

 tinental Shelf (OCS). After some success in persuading members of his 

 subcommittee to take on the job of presiding and specializing in dif- 

 ferent areas, Hechler discovered he had opened a Pandora's box in the 

 OCS area. Having promised the assignment to Krueger, Hechler found 

 that Bell wanted the job instead. Krueger and Bell were so determined 

 to preside that they openly quarreled over the assignment. Bell told 

 Hechler: 



I'm the ranking Republican member of your subcommittee, and I've been in 

 Congress for 14 years. Krueger is only a freshman and he doesn't have the experience I 

 have had with the oil business. I think that I deserve to do this job more than 

 Krueger. 



Hechler solved the dispute by designating Bell to preside in two days 

 of the hearings, and then Krueger for two days. The hearings them- 

 selves were a successful prelude to a carefully developed bill. Testi- 

 fying were the Department of the Interior, Coast Guard, Department 

 of Transportation, ERDA, NOAA, GAO, Westinghouse Electric Corp., 

 Atlantic-Richfield, Gulf, the University of Oklahoma, and environ- 

 mental witnesses. The bill directed the Interior Department and the 

 U.S. Geological Survey to consult with the States, conduct studies on 



