[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1984 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1984

   To provide for a four-year moratorium on the establishment of new 
  standards for ozone and fine particulate matter under the Clean Air 
Act, pending further implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 
   1990, additional review and air quality monitoring under that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 1997

  Mr. Klink (for himself, Mr. Boucher, and Mr. Upton) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for a four-year moratorium on the establishment of new 
  standards for ozone and fine particulate matter under the Clean Air 
Act, pending further implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 
   1990, additional review and air quality monitoring under that Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 set forth a number 
        of measures or programs that address ozone and particulate 
        matter pollution and their precursors;
            (2) most of these measures or programs are continuing or 
        have yet to be implemented;
            (3) the United States has made significant progress on 
        reducing atmospheric levels of ozone and particulate matter 
        since passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and will 
        continue to make significant progress on reducing atmospheric 
        levels of ozone and particulate matter through continued 
        implementation of that Act for the next 5 years;
            (4) changing the current national ambient air quality 
        standard for ozone, which is explicitly incorporated into 
        subpart D of part I of the Clean Air Act, could nullify many of 
        the ozone provisions in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 
        and lead to disruptions and delays in the reduction of ozone 
        and its precursors;
            (5) both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean 
        Air Scientific Advisory Committee have recommended that 
        additional research be conducted to determine any adverse 
        health effects of fine particles including the biological 
        mechanism for adverse health effects, toxicity and dose 
        response levels, and specification of the size and type of 
        particle that might have adverse health effects; and
            (6) there is a lack of atmospheric data regarding fine 
        particle levels in the United States and this atmospheric 
        monitoring data is necessary both to further understanding of 
        any adverse health effects of fine particles and to provide a 
        basis for designating areas under title I of the Clean Air Act.

SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON NEW STANDARDS AND REVIEW OF CRITERIA.

    (a) Moratorium.--During the 4-year period after the enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall not promulgate any new or revised national ambient air quality 
standards under the Clean Air Act for ozone or fine particulate matter. 
Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall (1) complete 
a thorough review of the air quality criteria published under section 
108 of the Clean Air Act for ozone and fine particulate matter and a 
thorough review of the standards in effect under such Act for ozone and 
particulate matter, and (2) determine, in accordance with section 108 
and 109 of such Act, whether to retain such standards, whether to make 
revisions in such criteria and standards, and whether to promulgate new 
standards.
    (b) Special Provisions Relating to Particulate Matter.--In 
reviewing the air quality criteria for particulate matter as provided 
in subsection (a), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, in consultation with the independent scientific review 
committee appointed under section 109(d)(2)(A) of the Clean Air Act, 
shall--
            (1) evaluate any adverse health effects of exposure to 
        airborne particulate matter;
            (2) determine the amount and size of particles inhaled and 
        retained in the lungs; and
            (3) investigate the biological mechanisms by which 
        particulate matter (based on its size, concentrations, and 
        type) in ambient air may induce adverse health effects.
    (c) Monitoring.--For purposes of subsection (b), the Administrator 
of the Environmental Protection Agency is authorized to require State 
implementation plans to require ambient air quality monitoring for fine 
particulate matter pursuant to section 110(a)(2)(B) of the Clean Air 
Act, and the Administrator shall make grants to the States to carry out 
such monitoring.
    (d) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated not 
more than $75,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1998 through 2002 to 
carry out this Act.
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