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