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1995 SESSION

LD4570244
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 598
Offered January 23, 1995
Memorializing Congress to reconsider certain provisions of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and associated regulations.
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Patrons--Barlow, Giesen, Hall, Mayer and Plum; Senators: Barry, Benedetti, Calhoun and Quayle
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, the major purpose of the enactment of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law No. 101-549) was the improvement and protection of air quality through control of air pollution and its sources; and

WHEREAS, in concentrating on control and elimination of air pollution the provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) themselves and the regulations promulgated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in furtherance of the CAAA overlook the full range of costs which anti-pollution measures impose on businesses, industries, state and local governments, families, and individuals; and

WHEREAS, both the CAAA and EPA’s supporting regulations contain numerous deadlines and compliance schedules that, in seeking to speed the pace of air pollution control and reduction technology, have proven to be both unrealistic and inflexible; and

WHEREAS, neither the CAAA nor EPA’s regulations grant the states adequate latitude in or credit for exploring, developing, and implementing air pollution control and reduction techniques and programs that take into account state and regional differences in pollution problems, geography, climate, political culture, and lifestyle; and

WHEREAS, the more the public perceives there to be an imbalance between air pollution control measures’ costs and their environmental benefits, the less the public will support the full implementation and vigorous enforcement of such measures; and

WHEREAS, an erosion of public support of air pollution reduction and control programs could ultimately lead to a failure or abandonment of those programs and others aimed at promoting and protecting environmental quality; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress be hereby memorialized to review and reconsider the provisions of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and policies and regulations of the federal Environmental Protection Agency adopted or promulgated in furtherance of that Act in order to ensure, through appropriate amendments and other changes, that federal and federally mandated air pollution reduction and control programs, policies, procedures, requirements, and implementation schedules be, to the maximum extent prudent, practical, cost-effective, and flexible enough to take into account the often widely diverging needs; varying air pollution problems; existing, proposed, and developing state and local air pollution reduction and control programs; and differing life styles of America’s states and regions; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Virginia congressional delegation in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the Virginia General Assembly in this matter.