[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 60 (Friday, May 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4285-S4286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       By Mr. D'AMATO:

  S. 733. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to expand the coverage of 
the single transport region established to control interstate pollution 
and to apply control measures throughout the region, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.


           THE ACID DEPOSITION AND OZONE CONTROL ACT OF 1997

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
address a scourge that has long afflicted the State of New York and 
many parts of the Northeast. That scourge is acid rain.
  Ending the scourge of acid rain will not be easy. In fact, it is 
likely that additional congressional efforts will be necessary to fully 
address this issue and I intend to continue to work on such efforts. 
However, I believe that it is necessary to introduce this legislation 
at this time to make the Senate aware that serious measures must be 
taken to solve the acid rain problem that continues to impact New York 
and the Northeast. I look forward to working with my colleagues to 
develop the most sensible and cost-effective approach to eliminate the 
damages of acid rain.
  Over the past 15 years, Congress and the Federal Government have 
attempted to address this problem. Unfortunately, efforts to date have 
not yielded the success in may State that New Yorkers had wished. 
Lakes, streams, and trees in the Adirondacks are still dying due to 
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that are transported from 
upwind sources. The health of New Yorkers and New York's environment 
continue to be affected by fuel burning activities in other regions of 
our Nation. That must change. This bill will see that significant 
reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are achieved so that 
New Yorkers and also others in the Northeast will be able to enjoy a 
cleaner environment.
  Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide [SO2] and nitrogen 
oxides [NOx]--created from the burning of fossil fuels--
react with water vapor in the atmosphere to create dilute amounts of 
sulfuric and nitric acid. These acids then fall to Earth either through 
precipitation or as gases and dry particles--dry deposition. Congress 
first passed legislation to address acid rain in the 1982 Clean Air Act 
amendments. It soon became clear, though, that the provisions would not 
effectively curb acid rain. The New York State Legislature in 1984 
recognized this problem and enacted programs leading to specific 
reductions of in-State acid rain sources. The success of those efforts 
have produced a 40-percent reduction to date of in-State emissions of 
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
  New York's efforts notwithstanding, only a small amount of the acid 
rain that impacts New York State actually originates in New York State. 
To truly protect New York's environment, it was necessary for 
facilities in other parts of our Nation to reduce their emissions. 
Partly as a result of New York's efforts, Congress included title IV in 
the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments to require a 50-percent decrease 
nationwide in sulfur dioxide emissions by the year 2000. Because of the 
requirements of title IV, significant reductions in sulfur dioxide have 
occurred already. Nevertheless, these reductions are not enough to 
fully protect the Adirondacks, nor will they reverse the damage that 
has been done. To do this, further decreases in sulfur dioxide 
emissions will be necessary.
  Even with all the many efforts to date and those that need to be 
achieved in the future, reductions in sulfur dioxide alone will not be 
sufficient to protect New York's environment from continued acid 
deposition. Other pollutants, mainly nitrogen oxides [NOx], 
have also been shown to play a significant role in the acidification of 
our waters and forests. Without further controls of nitrogen oxides, 
the EPA estimates that the number of acidic lakes in the Adirondacks 
will increase to 43 percent by the year 2040. Such an increase will see 
approximately 1,300 lakes out of the 3,000 in the Adirondacks become 
chronically acidic. This is not the kind of legacy that we should pass 
along to future generations.
  Even with the controls that the Clean Air Act of 1990 imposed, more 
must be done if the Adirondacks are to be spared further acidification. 
This legislation will require the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] 
to promulgate regulations to reduce utility emissions of sulfur dioxide 
and nitrogen oxides by two-thirds from 1990 levels. This legislation 
targets those areas of the Nation that are the primary contributors of 
these pollutants. Such reductions will produce dramatic decreases 
in acid deposition in New York and throughout the Northeast, as well as 
decreases in the level of fine particulates, ozone and haze.

  The bill would also expand the membership of the existing Ozone 
Transport Commission from the current 12 States to include additional 
States that have been shown to contribute to the long-range transport 
of ozone and acid rain. The Ozone Transport Commission is authorized 
under the Clean Air Act to make recommendations for pollution controls 
to be enacted by member States. The EPA can either approve or 
disapprove any recommendations. However, the EPA would have to provide 
equivalent alternatives in those cases

[[Page S4286]]

where it disapproves the recommendations.
  Once enacted, this bill would require those States that contribute to 
acid rain pollution to implement control measures like those currently 
in place in New York and the Northeast. These include activities like 
scrubbers on smokestacks, low NOx burners, and the use of 
low-sulfur coal, although the bill would not mandate which technology 
to use.
  For some time now, New York has played by the rules and has gone the 
extra mile to reduce the emissions that cause acid rain within her 
borders. While I recognize that the reductions associated with title IV 
of the Clean Air Act will move us in the right direction, no amount of 
effort on the part of New York or other similarly afflicted States in 
the Northeast can be effective if other parts of our Nation do not do 
their fair share. Enough is enough. I only ask for equity from our 
neighbors so that New York may be able to enjoy a cleaner environment 
and the resulting health benefits. It can be done.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 733

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Acid Deposition and Ozone 
     Control Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1)(A) reducing atmospheric nitrogen oxide will reduce 
     acidic deposition, and the serious adverse effects of acidic 
     deposition on public health, natural resources, building 
     structures, and ecosystems; and
       (B) acidic deposition has been demonstrated to result in 
     increased morbidity in fish and severe damage to water bodies 
     and forest lands;
       (2)(A) reducing atmospheric nitrogen oxide will provide 
     further benefits by decreasing ambient levels of tropospheric 
     ozone, fine particulate matter, and regional haze associated 
     with poor visibility; and
       (B) such conditions have been demonstrated to result in 
     severe threats to public health, including lung irritation, 
     increased incidence of asthma and bronchitis, and increased 
     human morbidity;
       (3)(A) nitrogen deposition into affected watersheds can 
     result in excessive nutrient enrichment leading to algal 
     blooms and increased biological oxygen demand; and
       (B) such conditions can lead to increased morbidity in 
     marine life and severe degradation of economic and 
     recreational opportunities;
       (4) additional reductions in sulfur dioxide beyond levels 
     currently required by the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 
     seq.) will result in decreases in acidic deposition, regional 
     haze, and ambient levels of fine particulates;
       (5) the allowance trading program established in the Clean 
     Air Act for the reduction of emissions of sulfur dioxide has 
     been highly effective at creating cost-effective control 
     measures;
       (6) the technology exists to inexpensively reduce sulfur 
     dioxide emissions beyond the levels currently required by the 
     Clean Air Act;
       (7) the ozone transport region established by the Clean Air 
     Act to reduce long-range transport of ozone does not 
     currently include all the States necessary to achieve the 
     intended reduction; and
       (8) this Act shall support the Environmental Protection 
     Agency's stated objective of controlling ground level ozone 
     through regional controls, as developed by the Ozone 
     Transport Assessment Group and referred to in the January 10, 
     1997, advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for State 
     implementation plans under section 110(k)(5) of the Clean Air 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(5)).
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to recognize the scientific evidence that emissions of 
     nitrogen oxide present a substantial threat to public health 
     and the environment;
       (2) to require reductions in the emission of nitrogen 
     oxide;
       (3) to recognize that the means exist to cost-effectively 
     reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide beyond the levels 
     currently required by the Clean Air Act;
       (4) to require reductions in the emission of sulfur 
     dioxide;
       (5) to recognize that tropospheric ozone is a regional 
     problem;
       (6) to recognize that the single ozone transport region 
     created by the Clean Air Act does not currently include all 
     the States necessary to adequately address the problem of 
     ozone; and
       (7) to amend the Clean Air Act to expand the membership in 
     the ozone transport region by using the best currently 
     available science to include those States that contribute to 
     ozone levels in noncompliance areas within the current single 
     ozone transport region.

     SEC. 3. CONTROL OF INTERSTATE OZONE AIR POLLUTION.

       (a) Additional States.--Section 184(a) of the Clean Air Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 7511c(a)) is amended after the first sentence by 
     inserting the following: ``The Administrator, using the best 
     available science and models developed by the Ozone Transport 
     Assessment Group, shall add any State to the single ozone 
     transport region that contributed 4 parts per billion or more 
     to ozone via aerial transport to the ozone level of any 
     noncompliant area in the single ozone transport region for 
     any 1 of the second through tenth worst ozone days that 
     occurred during the previous 10 years.''.
       (b) Control Measures.--Not later than 18 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, any control measure adopted 
     under section 184(a) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
     7511c(a)) before the date of enactment of this Act shall 
     apply to any State added to the single ozone transport region 
     under the second sentence of section 184(a) of the Clean Air 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 7511c(a)) after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS.

       Section 184 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7511c) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Additional Emissions Reductions.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall 
     promulgate regulations requiring reductions in the emissions 
     of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide in any State added to 
     the single ozone transport region under the second sentence 
     of subsection (a) to \1/3\ of the 1990 levels by the year 
     2003.
       ``(2) Affected units.--The regulations shall apply to 
     affected units, as defined under section 402.
       ``(3) Allowance program.--The Administrator may establish 
     an allowance trading program to carry out this subsection.
       ``(4) Effect on other law.--This subsection shall not 
     affect any law (including regulations) that requires a 
     greater reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxide or sulfur 
     dioxide than is required by this subsection.''.

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