Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
October 14, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1134 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY October 14, 1999 DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN SENATOR
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS CLEAN AIR ACT
REAUTHORIZATIONS
BODY:
STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANIEL
PATRICK MOYNIHAN BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CLEAN AIR, WETLANDS, PRIVATE
PROPERTY AND NUCLEAR SAFETY, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 14, 1999 Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this hearing
on the reauthorization of the Clean Air Act. It is clear that the Clean Air Act
and the 1990 amendments to the bill have resulted in a significant improvement
in air quality, and a better understanding of the science of monitoring,
measuring and controlling air pollution. The regulatory flexibility of a "cap
and trade" program, exemplified by the S02 Allowance Program, has been
successful because of the flexibility it allows affected utilities. It promotes
innovation and competition in emissions reduction technologies and has produced
tremendous cost savings. Since 1990, studies have estimated that the cost
savings due to emissions trading, compared to the traditional command-and-
control approach, have been between $230 million and $600 million per year.
These successes are encouraging but our work is not yet done. I testified before
this committee last year about the pioneering scientists at Cornell University,
Carl Schofield, Eugene Likens, and Charles Driscoll who were among the
scientists responsible for establishing a strong link between acid deposition -
primarily caused by upwind utilities - and the diminished ability of lakes to
sustain healthy fish populations. We have made tremendous progress in
understanding the causes and effects of acid deposition and ways to control it,
but we still have a long way to go to mitigate these problems. We have learned,
for instance, that the S02 emissions reductions required under the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 are insufficient to prevent the continued acidification of
many lakes and further damage to sensitive ecosystems. Perhaps most importantly,
since the 1990 Amendments were enacted, we have learned that nitrogen oxides,
which were largely ignored eight years ago, play a significant roll in acid
deposition. And we have learned that acid deposition does not cause
environmental degradation just in remote, high- elevation forests and lakes in
the Adirondacks and northern New England. Rather, it poses a continuing and
significant threat to the environmental quality of lakes, streams, forests,
bays, and estuaries throughout the country. The Southern Appalachians, the Front
Range of Colorado, and the San Bernardino Mountains in California are greatly
affected by acidification and nitrogen saturation. Eutrophication is adversely
affecting coastal waters throughout the eastern seaboard, including the
Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, and the Gulf of Mexico. Achieving cleaner air
has a two-fold solution: identify and control both mobile and stationary sources
of pollution. The transportation sector accounts for nearly half of national NOx
emissions. A large portion of these emissions are in the form of tailpipe
exhaust from our national vehicle fleet. In recent years, advances in vehicle
technology have produced Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) - vehicles designed to
reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent. These vehicles were first sold in New
York beginning with the 1998 model year. Unfortunately, New York can not see the
full air quality benefits of these vehicles because New Yorkers do not have
access to the low sulfur gasoline these vehicles have been
designed to use. The problem is not limited to LEVs, although these vehicles are
especially sensitive to gasoline sulfur. All vehicles in the
national fleet with catalytic converters -- virtually all vehicles -- produce
higher levels of emissions because of the high levels of sulfur
in the gasoline they burn. Once the catalytic converter is
damaged, it permanently loses its ability to filter pollutants. In conclusion, I
want to say that the success of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments cannot be
questioned. The S02 Allowance Program established by that legislation has
achieved extraordinary benefits at program compliance costs less than half of
initial projections. The efficacy of the approach is proven. The current science
indicates, however, that we did not go far enough in 1990 in setting our
emissions reduction targets. We must build upon our accomplishments thus far,
and to begin the work which remains to be done. Thank you.
LOAD-DATE: October 16, 1999 
