By Chavez H.R. No. 442
77R8070 NBH-D
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, Air pollution has become an increasingly serious
1-2 problem that endangers public health; as pollution has increased,
1-3 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sought more
1-4 stringent enforcement of the federal Clean Air Act; and
1-5 WHEREAS, Any region that does not meet the National Ambient
1-6 Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
1-7 particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, or lead may be
1-8 designated as a nonattainment area; a nonattainment area is given a
1-9 deadline for achieving those standards, and the federal statute
1-10 requires any state with one or more nonattainment areas to develop
1-11 a State Implementation Plan outlining a process to reduce emissions
1-12 to meet NAAQS within a specified time frame; and
1-13 WHEREAS, Currently, the State of Texas has nine metropolitan
1-14 areas that either have been designated as nonattainment areas by
1-15 the EPA or are close to exceeding the NAAQS for one or more of the
1-16 regulated pollutants; and
1-17 WHEREAS, El Paso was classified as a serious nonattainment
1-18 area for the one-hour ozone standard in 1991 and is also the only
1-19 area in Texas that fails to meet the NAAQS for particulate matter
1-20 and carbon monoxide; and
1-21 WHEREAS, El Paso's ability to meet the NAAQS is adversely
1-22 affected by several circumstances beyond its control: its
1-23 proximity to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the fact that the two cities
1-24 are surrounded by mountains that form a common air basin, and the
2-1 high levels of emissions originating in Ciudad Juarez that
2-2 contribute to the high concentration of certain criteria pollutants
2-3 in the basin; and
2-4 WHEREAS, Section 179B of the Clean Air Act, which addresses
2-5 nonattainment areas along international borders, stipulates that
2-6 the State Implementation Plan must be approved by the EPA for any
2-7 metropolitan area in the United States that is able to demonstrate
2-8 that the area would be in compliance with the NAAQS for any of the
2-9 regulated pollutants if not for emissions from outside of the
2-10 United States; and
2-11 WHEREAS, The EPA has approved a demonstration by the Texas
2-12 Natural Resource Conservation Commission establishing, through the
2-13 use of scientific modeling, that the El Paso area would be in
2-14 compliance with the NAAQS for particulate matter by the required
2-15 deadline if not for emissions from Mexico; and
2-16 WHEREAS, The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
2-17 has submitted evidence to the EPA establishing that the El Paso
2-18 area also would be in attainment with the NAAQS for the one-hour
2-19 ozone and carbon monoxide standards if not for emissions from
2-20 Mexico; and
2-21 WHEREAS, Despite this evidence, the EPA has not yet approved
2-22 the State Implementation Plan for the El Paso area demonstrating
2-23 compliance with Section 179B for ozone and carbon monoxide; now,
2-24 therefore, be it
2-25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
2-26 Legislature hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United
2-27 States to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
3-1 redesignate El Paso from a nonattainment area to an attainment
3-2 area; and, be it further
3-3 RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
3-4 Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
3-5 president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of
3-6 representatives and the president of the senate of the United
3-7 States Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the
3-8 congress with the request that this resolution be officially
3-9 entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress
3-10 of the United States of America.