By Brown S.C.R. No. 36 77R4398 NBH-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 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) established by the EPA for sulfur 1-7 dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, 1-8 ozone, or lead may be designated as a nonattainment area; a 1-9 nonattainment area is given a deadline for achieving those 1-10 standards, and the federal statute requires any state with one or 1-11 more nonattainment areas to develop a State Implementation Plan 1-12 outlining a process to reduce emissions to meet NAAQS within a 1-13 specified time frame; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Currently, the State of Texas has nine metropolitan 1-15 areas that either have been designated as nonattainment areas by 1-16 the EPA or are close to exceeding the NAAQS for one or more of the 1-17 regulated pollutants; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Texas has been making every effort to comply with 1-19 its State Implementation Plan by reducing air pollution to the 1-20 greatest extent possible to protect public health; however, 1-21 attainment of air quality standards relies not only on stringent 1-22 local and state control measures but also on implementation of 1-23 certain federal controls; and 1-24 WHEREAS, While some components of emission reductions, such 2-1 as industrial pollution, fall under the jurisdiction of the state's 2-2 environmental regulation agency, other aspects are governed 2-3 exclusively by federal regulation, including gasoline and diesel 2-4 fuel standards, automobile and truck engines, diesel equipment, and 2-5 aircraft; and 2-6 WHEREAS, The state has been expediting the process of 2-7 reducing overall emissions from all state-regulated sources; 2-8 however, the effects of federally controlled emission reduction 2-9 efforts are not likely to be realized in this decade, while the 2-10 state is burdened with air pollution that it lacks the authority to 2-11 control; and 2-12 WHEREAS, As a result of recent federal action, the EPA will 2-13 require buses and commercial trucks to produce 95 percent less 2-14 pollution than today's buses and trucks, and will require the 2-15 amount of sulfur in diesel fuel to be reduced by 97 percent; these 2-16 measures alone are expected to cut air pollution by up to 95 2-17 percent; and 2-18 WHEREAS, At issue is the fact that the low-sulfur diesel fuel 2-19 provisions will not go into effect before 2006, and diesel fuel 2-20 engine manufacturers will have flexibility in meeting the new 2-21 emission standards through a phase-in approach between 2007 and 2-22 2010; furthermore, slow turnover of vehicles in commercial fleets 2-23 means that it will be several years beyond that before the number 2-24 of these buses and trucks on the road is sufficient to have a 2-25 measurable impact on air quality in nonattainment areas; and 2-26 WHEREAS, The federal Clean Air Act prevents states from 2-27 adopting standards for federally controlled emission sources even 3-1 if they cause significant pollution of the state's air; for 3-2 example, airport operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth region and 3-3 marine engines in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria region have been 3-4 among the most egregious examples of federally controlled sources 3-5 negatively impacting the state's efforts to reduce emissions; and 3-6 WHEREAS, Because of the lengthy timeline for emission 3-7 reductions of federally controlled sources, the federally mandated 3-8 attainment date for some nonattainment areas in Texas will arrive 3-9 long before the effects of any reduction in federally controlled 3-10 emission sources can be measured; and 3-11 WHEREAS, It is extremely difficult for the state to 3-12 demonstrate significant reductions in air pollution and remain in 3-13 compliance with its State Implementation Plan without a concomitant 3-14 reduction in the emissions of federally controlled sources; now, 3-15 therefore, be it 3-16 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 3-17 hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 3-18 direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to extend the 3-19 National Ambient Air Quality Standards attainment dates until the 3-20 effects of reductions in emissions from federally controlled 3-21 sources can be fully measured and their benefits realized in areas 3-22 where federally controlled emission sources are significant 3-23 contributors to their nonattainment status; and, be it further 3-24 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 3-25 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 3-26 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 3-27 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 4-1 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 4-2 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 4-3 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. 4-4