A permit program can be a valuable enforcement tool to apply the general commands of the law to particular pollution sources. But the Nickles-Heflin amendment turned this idea on its head. It would have provided a shield to protect emitters from clean-up requirements needed to protect public health, repealed monitoring requirements under current law, and eliminated the rights of citizens to enforce the law.

This vote was on a motion of Senator Dole to reconsider the Nickles-Heflin amendment. The motion was defeated with a vote of 49-51 on April 3. No was the pro-environment vote.