By Bonnen, Uher                                      H.C.R. No. 233
         77R11510 NBH-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area has been
 1-2     classified as a severe nonattainment area for the one-hour ozone
 1-3     standard and is in jeopardy of being classified as a nonattainment
 1-4     area for the proposed eight-hour ozone and particulate matter 2.5
 1-5     standards, if those standards are fully implemented; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, There is data demonstrating that Brazoria County's
 1-7     ozone concentrations are classified most often as "good" under the
 1-8     Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission's (TNRCC) standards;
 1-9     and
1-10           WHEREAS, Brazoria County is classified as an ozone
1-11     nonattainment area because of its inclusion in the Consolidated
1-12     Metropolitan Statistical Area as established by the federal Clean
1-13     Air Act of 1970, as amended in 1990; and
1-14           WHEREAS, The State Implementation Plan (SIP) will unduly
1-15     burden Brazoria County with the same stringent emissions reduction
1-16     measures that will be required of the other counties in the
1-17     eight-county nonattainment area; Brazoria County should be held
1-18     accountable only for the portion of emissions that it produces,
1-19     which are minor compared to the total emissions of the eight-county
1-20     region; and
1-21           WHEREAS, It is of great importance to the residents of
1-22     Brazoria County that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
1-23     credit the county with the significant reductions in air pollution
1-24     already achieved; and
 2-1           WHEREAS, In light of the considerable financial stress that
 2-2     the requirements of the Clean Air Act will put on many businesses
 2-3     and, in some cases, entire industries, it is imperative that the
 2-4     EPA conduct a cost-benefit analysis of various emissions control
 2-5     strategies to determine their impact; and
 2-6           WHEREAS, There are several methodologies that may be employed
 2-7     by the TNRCC and the EPA to establish compliance with the National
 2-8     Ambient Air Quality Standards, and the use of the most
 2-9     scientifically accurate of those methodologies benefits all
2-10     parties; and
2-11           WHEREAS, It is vitally important that the air quality of
2-12     Texas be monitored and regulated by the state's environmental
2-13     protection agency rather than the federal EPA; this matter should
2-14     be considered a states' rights issue; now, therefore, be it
2-15           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-16     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
2-17     require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use the most
2-18     scientifically accurate methodology possible to assess emissions
2-19     reductions, to credit Brazoria County with emissions reductions
2-20     already achieved, and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of
2-21     emissions control strategies; and, be it further
2-22           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-23     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
2-24     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
2-25     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
2-26     the Texas delegation with the request that this resolution be
2-27     officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the
 3-1     Congress of the United States of America.