[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3597 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3597

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
conduct a feasibility study for applying airport bubbles as a method of 
identifying, assessing, and reducing the adverse environmental impacts 
   of airport ground and flight operations and improving the overall 
          quality of the environment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2005

 Mr. Rothman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
conduct a feasibility study for applying airport bubbles as a method of 
identifying, assessing, and reducing the adverse environmental impacts 
   of airport ground and flight operations and improving the overall 
          quality of the environment, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Right to Know 
About Airport Pollution Act of 2005''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Study of using airport bubbles.
Sec. 5. Study of emission standards for airplane engines.
Sec. 6. Progress reports.
Sec. 7. Reporting of toxic chemical releases.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the serious ground level ozone, noise, water pollution, 
        and solid waste disposal problems attendant to airport 
        operations require a thorough evaluation of all significant 
        sources of pollution;
            (2) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.)--
                    (A) requires each State to reduce emissions 
                contributing to ground level ozone problems and 
                maintain those reductions; and
                    (B) requires the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency to study, in addition to other 
                sources, the effects of sporadic, extreme noise (such 
                as jet noise near airports) on public health and 
                welfare;
            (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 
        et seq.) establishes a regulatory and enforcement program for 
        discharges of wastes into waters;
            (4) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) 
        establishes primary drinking water standards and a ground water 
        control program;
            (5) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) 
        regulates management and disposal of solid and hazardous waste;
            (6) a study of air pollution problems in California--
                    (A) has determined that airports are significant 
                sources of air pollution; and
                    (B) has led to the creation of an airport bubble 
                concept; and
            (7) the airport bubble concept is an approach that--
                    (A) treats an airport and the area within a 
                specific radius around the airport as a single source 
                of pollution that emits a range of pollutants, 
                including air, noise, water, and solid waste; and
                    (B) seeks, by implementation of specific programs 
                or regulations, to reduce the pollution from each 
                source within the bubble and thereby reduce the overall 
                pollution in that area.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require the 
Administrator to conduct--
            (1) a feasibility study for applying airport bubbles to 
        airports as a method of assessing and reducing, where 
        appropriate, air, noise, water, and solid waste pollution in 
        and around the airports and improving overall environmental 
        quality; and
            (2) a study of air pollutant emission standards established 
        by the Environmental Protection Agency for airplane engines to 
        determine whether it is feasible and desirable to strengthen 
        the standards.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Airport bubble.--The term ``airport bubble'' means an 
        area--
                    (A) in and around an airport (or other facility 
                using aircraft) within which sources of pollution and 
                levels of pollution from those sources are to be 
                identified and reduced; and
                    (B) containing a variety of types of air, noise, 
                water, and solid waste sources of pollution in which 
                the aggregate of each type of pollutant from the 
                respective sources is regulated as if the various 
                sources were a single source.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF USING AIRPORT BUBBLES.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall conduct a study to 
determine the feasibility of regulating air, noise, water, and solid 
waste pollution from all sources in and around airports using airport 
bubbles.
    (b) Working Group.--In conducting the study, the Administrator 
shall establish and consult with a working group comprised of--
            (1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration (or a designee);
            (2) the Secretary of Defense (or a designee);
            (3) the Secretary of Transportation (or a designee);
            (4) a representative of air quality districts;
            (5) a representative of environmental research groups;
            (6) a representative of State Audubon Societies;
            (7) a representative of the Sierra Club;
            (8) a representative of the Nature Conservancy;
            (9) a representative of port authorities of States;
            (10) an airport manager;
            (11) a representative of commanding officers of military 
        air bases and stations;
            (12) a representative of the bus lines that serve airports 
        who is familiar with the emissions testing and repair records 
        of those buses, the schedules of those lines, and any problems 
        with delays in service caused by traffic congestion;
            (13) a representative of the taxis and limousines that 
        serve airports who is familiar with the emissions testing and 
        repair records of the taxis and limousines and the volume of 
        business generated by the taxis and limousines;
            (14) a representative of local law enforcement agencies or 
        other entities responsible for traffic conditions in and around 
        airports;
            (15) a representative of the Air Transport Association;
            (16) a representative of the Airports Council 
        International--North America;
            (17) a representative of environmental specialists from 
        airport authorities; and
            (18) a representative from an aviation union representing 
        ground crews.
    (c) Required Elements.--In conducting the study, the Administrator 
shall--
            (1) collect, analyze, and consider information on the 
        variety of stationary and mobile sources of air, noise, water, 
        and solid waste pollution within airport bubbles around 
        airports in the United States, including--
                    (A) aircraft, vehicles, and equipment that service 
                aircraft (including main and auxiliary engines); and
                    (B) buses, taxis, and limousines that serve 
                airports;
            (2) study a statistically significant number of airports 
        serving commercial aviation in a manner designed to obtain a 
        representative sampling of such airports;
            (3) consider all relevant information that is available, 
        including State implementation plans under the Clean Air Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) and airport master plans;
            (4) consider the air quality implications of airport and 
        ground and in-flight aircraft operations, such as routing and 
        delays;
            (5) assess the role of airports in interstate and 
        international travel and commerce and the environmental and 
        economic impact of regulating airports as significant sources 
        of air, noise, water, and solid waste pollution;
            (6) propose boundaries of the areas to be included within 
        airport bubbles;
            (7) propose a definition of air pollutant emissions for 
        airport bubbles that includes hydrocarbons, volatile organic 
        compounds, and other ozone precursors targeted for reduction 
        under Federal air pollution law;
            (8) develop an inventory of each source of air, noise, 
        water, and solid waste pollution to be regulated within airport 
        bubbles and the level of reduction for each source;
            (9) list and evaluate programs that might be implemented to 
        reduce air, noise, water, and solid waste pollution within 
        airport bubbles and the environmental and economic impact of 
        each of the programs, including any changes to Federal or State 
        law (including regulations) that would be required for 
        implementation of each of the programs;
            (10) evaluate the feasibility of regulating air, noise, 
        water, and solid waste pollutants in and around airports using 
        airport bubbles and make recommendations regarding which 
        programs should be included in an effective implementation of 
        airport bubble methodology; and
            (11) address the issues of air and noise pollution source 
        identification and regulation that are unique to military air 
        bases and stations.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administration shall submit to Congress a report 
describing the results and recommendations of the study required by 
this section.

SEC. 5. STUDY OF EMISSION STANDARDS FOR AIRPLANE ENGINES.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall conduct a study of air 
pollutant emission standards established by the Environmental 
Protection Agency for airplane engines to determine whether it is 
feasible and desirable to strengthen the standards.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 
describing the results and recommendations of the study required by 
this section.

SEC. 6. PROGRESS REPORTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this Act, and every 
year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report which details the progress being made 
by the agency in complying with section 4 and section 5 of this Act.

SEC. 7. REPORTING OF TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations 
requiring each airport that regularly serves commercial or military jet 
aircraft to report, under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11023) and section 6607 
of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13106), releases and 
other waste management activities associated with the manufacturing, 
processing, or other use of toxic chemicals listed under section 313 of 
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 
U.S.C. 11023), including toxic chemicals manufactured, processed, or 
otherwise used--
            (1) during operation and maintenance of aircraft and other 
        motor vehicles at the airport; and
            (2) in the course of other airport and airline activities.
    (b) Treatment as a Facility.--For the purpose of subsection (a), an 
airport shall be considered to be a facility as defined in section 329 
of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 
U.S.C. 11049).
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