[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 162 (Wednesday, November 28, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE TRANSPORTED AIR POLLUTION MITIGATION ACT OF 2001

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                          HON. GARY A. CONDIT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 28, 2001

  Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce ``The Transported Air 
Pollution Mitigation Act of 2001.'' This bill holds upwind air 
districts responsible to neighboring downwind air districts for the 
impacts of transported air pollution.
  The Clean Air Act requires States to address the impact of air 
pollution that is transported between States. It is silent, however, 
about addressing transported air pollution within a State or what 
mitigation measures are imposed when transported pollution occurs 
between States. This oversight allows upwind air districts--because of 
prevailing wind patterns--to transport locally generated emissions to 
neighboring downwind air districts and only requires them to address 
the emissions that remain in the upwind district.
  Transported pollution impacts the environment, public health, and 
economies in the downwind air districts. Pollution knows no political 
boundaries. A case in point is the San Francisco Bay Area. The 
California Air Resources Board has classified the San Francisco Bay 
Area as an ``overwhelming'' ozone contributor to each of the four 
neighboring air districts surrounding it--Sacramento, the San Joaquin 
Valley, Southern Sonoma, and the Monterey Bay-Central Coast region. 
This classification means that air quality monitoring data has shown 
there are days in which the downwind air district is in violation of 
quality standards because of emissions generated by the upwind air 
district.
  This bill is a matter of fairness and equity. It requires those areas 
that are responsible to be accountable for the public health, 
environmental and economic impacts to their downwind neighbors.

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