Sen. Wayne Allard (R): Dirty Dozen 2002
Colorado Senate

2001 LCV Environmental Rating = 13%

 106th LCV Environmental Rating = 0%

 Lifetime LCV Environmental Rating = 9%

View Wayne Allard's Race At A Glance page.

Senator Allard returns to the Dirty Dozen after six years of voting against the environment.   In fact, Wayne Allard cast one lone pro-environment vote during his entire Senate tenure -- in 39 chances.

ALLARD'S ANTI-ENVIRONMENT RECORD
Allard has consistently voted against stronger protection for air and water.
Throughout his career in the House and the Senate, Allard has voted against improved protection for Colorado's water and air.  He voted to delay a more protective standard for arsenic in drinking water even though the National Academy of Sciences found that arsenic in drinking water may cause cancer and birth defects.  He voted to prevent the EPA from cleaning up rivers that are contaminated with hazardous chemicals including DDT, PCBs and dioxin, which cause cancer and other adverse effects.  

Colorado has worked to come into compliance with EPA's air quality standards, finally meeting the standards for several pollutants, including ozone and particulates. Yet Allard twice voted against improving fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, putting Colorado's clean air achievements at risk.  Health officials state that particulates are linked with a variety of adverse health affects, especially aggravation of respiratory problems, including asthma. 

Ozone, a primary component of smog, is also linked to increases in asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.  Children are the especially vulnerable to the effects of smog.  Allard also voted against the right of communities to know about their compliance with smog standards under the Clean Air Act.

Allard Fails To Protect Colorado's Quality of Life
A February 2002 Rocky Mountain News poll indicates that 52% of Coloradans believe growth is the biggest issue facing the state.  From 1990 to 1999 Douglas County, south of Denver, was the fastest growing county in the country, with six other Colorado counties among the top 100.  

Nevertheless, Allard twice voted for legislation that would make it more difficult for communities to curb sprawl, thus limiting their ability to control growth.  He voted for legislation requiring the federal government to pay landowners to comply with environmental laws and he supported legislation that would interfere with the ability of local government to limit growth.

Protecting Polluters
Colorado has 15 sites on the Superfund National Priorities List of the most hazardous toxic waste sites in the country, yet Allard voted against a $2.1 billion increase to accelerate the clean up of these sites across the country.  Fifteen Superfund sites are contaminating air, water and land in Colorado, with nine of them contaminating drinking water.  But in a contradiction of the Superfund program's policy of making polluters pay to clean up their toxic waste, Allard voted to allow reimbursement of polluters' clean up costs with taxpayer funds.  Since January 2001, Allard has received over $190,000 in campaign contributions from companies that could be responsible for waste at Superfund sites.

Colorado is vulnerable for more environmental disasters.  For example, the Summitville mine is an abandoned gold mine that contaminated the Alamosa River with cyanide, acid and metals, killing aquatic life and threatening farmland downstream.  

Allard has consistently voted against mining reform which would help prevent future such disasters, and for additional mining subsidies, and for continuing the subsidy for hard rock mining, (i.e., mining for gold, silver and copper), much of this on public lands.  He voted to open unlimited amounts of public land to the dumping of toxic hardrock mining wastes, and voted to block the Bureau of Land Management's efforts to reform outdated regulations.  Since January 2001, Allard has received over $88,000 in campaign contributions from mining interests.

Allard votes against protection of the nation's public lands
While claiming in his "Allard Clean 14" that he supports Colorado Land and Water Conservation Fund requests, Allard has twice voted against increased funding for the National Parks and land conservation.  He has consistently voted to allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, stating "If you have a spill in the ocean near Florida, aren't the consequences much more severe than if there's a spill in the Arctic, where the oil will flow out on the ice and coagulate?"  

Despite this stated concern for oil spills near Florida, Allard also voted to allow new oil and gas leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.  Allard's "Clean 14" cites his support for several new parks and refuges in Colorado.  However, he has voted to allow increased road building in national parks and refuges, which will increase access to pristine areas, and put additional strain on ageing infrastructure.  In addition, he voted against taking $25 million from the budget for timber sales that lose taxpayer's money and using $15 million of the funds for planning and preparing for fighting wildfires in the National Forest System.

THE STATE
Colorado's economy relies increasingly on its role as the growing, high tech center of the Rocky Mountain States.  The state's high quality of life and spectacular natural surroundings attract new businesses and residents.  Water quantity is a serious issue this year because of a very severe drought, and the resulting record-setting fires.  The state leans Republican, and voted for George Bush (51.6%) over Al Gore (43.1%), with Ralph Nader getting 5.3%; four out of 10 voters are new to the state in the last six years.   

THE RACE
This is a rematch between Allard and Tom Strickland, a Colorado lawyer and former U.S. Attorney.  Strickland has a long history of working to protect Colorado's environment, including helping to organize Great Outdoors Colorado and serving on Environmental Defense's Rocky Mountain Advisory Board.  The power of the environmental message in Colorado is clear in Allard's attempt to minimize his weak environmental record by emphasizing the "Allard Clean 14" which focuses on local issues.