[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 73 (Thursday, June 6, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SOUTHERN BORDER AIR QUALITY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 5, 2002

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I proudly represent the people of Imperial 
County, California, which is a small community located on the U.S.-
Mexico border. As with many border communities, the Imperial County has 
a good working relationship with their neighbors in Mexico. 
Unfortunately, they also have to suffer the consequences of Mexico's 
more lax environmental requirements, especially with respect to air 
quality. As we all know, air does not respect the international 
boundaries we put in place and, as a result, border communities are 
often penalized for activities that are actually happening south of the 
border and beyond their control.
  Such a situation is developing for Imperial County. At least 
partially due to the heavy regulatory and environmental compliance 
burdens, electrical generation facilities are locating in Mexico. While 
some companies are building power plants that meet U.S. standards, for 
which they should be commended, other companies are choosing to operate 
dirty plants as opposed to incurring the additional cost of installing 
the best available emission control devices.
  As a result, I am introducing the Southern Border Air Quality 
Protection Act. This bill takes an immediate and important step in 
acknowledging that we must consider air pollution a regional issue that 
does not respect international boundaries. My legislation will prohibit 
the export of natural gas to any electricity generation facility 
located in Mexico and within 50 miles of the U.S. that does not meet 
the air pollution emission rate requirements in the nearest U.S. air 
quality control region. In addition, the legislation includes a 
grandfathering clause so that any plants put in service before December 
31, 2001 are exempted from this law.
  This bill is necessary to protect our border communities from rapidly 
increasing emissions from unregulated, substandard power plants that 
leave U.S. communities vulnerable to federal regulatory sanctions. If a 
plant isn't good enough to be built five miles inside the border in 
California, then it shouldn't be good enough to operate five miles 
outside the border in Mexico.
  I realize this is a first step and that more work must be done to 
create cross border air quality zones. I look forward to working with 
the appropriate U.S. agencies and the Mexican government to implement 
such binational agreements. In the meantime, this legislation is 
immediately necessary for the protection of our border communities and 
I urge all my colleagues to join me in this effort to ensure the clean 
air throughout the region.

                          ____________________