Air pollution
affects everyone. Rich or poor, man or woman, everyone needs
to breathe, and polluted air affects every segment of society.
Tons of soot, coal dust, sulfur, nitrogen oxide, carbon
dioxide, and mercury are pumped into our atmosphere every
year. When you think about it, it’s easy to see why we need
strong laws to limit air pollution.
Existing State Law
California
In 2002, AB
1493 was ratified in both houses of the California legislature
and signed
into law by Governor Gray Davis. The bill gives California’s
Air Resources Board the authority to set emissions standards
that achieve the maximum feasible reduction in global warming
pollution emitted by passenger vehicles. “Maximum feasibility”
means a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that is “capable
of being successfully accomplished within a reasonable period
of time, taking into account environmental, economic, social,
and technological factors” and “economical to an owner or
operator of a vehicle, taking into account the full life-cycle
costs of the vehicle.” The regulations proposed in the bill
would be adopted no later than Jan. 1, 2005, and go into
effect no earlier than Jan. 1, 2006, and apply only to 2009
model-year automobiles.
Connecticut
HB 6365 was ratified by the Connecticut legislature in May
2002. The bill proposes to clean up Connecticut’s “sooty
six,” the six dirtiest power plants in the state. The bill
cuts the amount of sulfur dioxide released from the six
plants.
North Carolina
The Ambient
Air Quality Improvement Act of 1999 sets a goal of a
25% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and seeks to encourage
greater alternative fuel use by 2009. The bill prohibits
the sale of gasoline with a sulfur content of 30 parts per
million or higher, and initiates a motor vehicle emissions
testing regime in 9 selected counties, with instructions
on a progressive expansion of the counties to require testing.
Minnesota
Minnesota ratified its air toxics reduction plan during
the 1999-2000 biennium. The air toxics reduction plan, HF
2524, requires Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency
to draft a plan for reducing ten different air toxins.
The plan should ensure that air toxins do not exceed health
risk benchmarks around the state.
Introduced State Legislation
New Jersey
State Senator Joseph
Coniglio of New Jersey introduced S
1293, a Senate version of Assembly bill A
1584 introduced last session in the New Jersey legislature.
The bill proposes a risk assessment study of air pollution
produced by major facilities around the state. Based on
the health risk findings, the bill goes on to propose increases
in air pollution monitoring at the aforementioned facilities.
The pollutants to be studied include carbon monoxide, particulate
matter, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, VOC, lead, and
any and all other airborne contaminants.
Florida
The Florida Clean Power Act, SB
2472, died in the Committee on Natural Resources. The
bill would have placed Florida at the forefront of progressive
power plant siting efforts in the states. It would have
required Florida’s power plants to clean up their production
of the “Four Pollutants,” a combination of dirty and destructive
greenhouse gases common among the nation’s oldest power
generation facilities. |
