CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE
January 18, 1968
Page 283
A VIGOROUS FEDERAL AIR POLLUTION PROGRAM
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, on Tuesday, January 16, the Federal Register carried notification that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's National Center on Air Pollution Control has defined meteorologically the Nation's atmospheric areas as required by the Air Quality Act of 1967.
This notification is significant of the vigorous effort being made by Secretary John W. Gardner and Center Director John Middleton to get the Federal air pollution control program moving.
Atmospheric areas define the climatological zones of the United States which affect the application of air pollution control methods and provide information of utility in designation of air quality control regions. Important meteorological parameters that affect the interchange and diffusion of airborne pollutants are frequency, persistency, and height variation of stable- inversion layers of air and speed and direction of wind.
This activity is not to be confused with the previously mentioned designation of air quality control regions. This program is a part of the standards setting operation. The designated regions relate to other factors such as geographic boundaries, urban-industrial concentrations, and so forth. It may be, as pointed out in the attached press release, that air quality control regions will bridge atmospheric area.
Mr. President, the fact that this map of the Nation's atmospheric areas has been published is significant and is a strong indicator of the type of effective action the Congress can expect in the months and years to come.
Another factor which assures me that the Federal air pollution control program is well on the road to carrying out the responsibilities unanimously voted by the Congress is the recent promulgation, by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, of more stringent automotive emission standards for new 1970 motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines.
By way of history, Mr. President, I would like to point out that the Federal involvement in automotive emission control began with the passage of the 1965 Clean Air Act Amendments. Subsequent to enactment of that legislation the administration proposed standards for all new 1968 motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines. All 1968 model cars sold in the United States must meet Federal standards which limit exhaust emission of hydrocarbons to 275 parts per million and carbon monoxide to 1.5 percent of total exhaust emissions.
The new standards as proposed by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare require 1970 vehicles and vehicle engines to meet more rigid emission standards and broaden the general application of standards to reach more vehicles.
Because of a change in the system of measuring emissions a direct comparison between the 1968 and 1970 standards is not meaningful. However, the attached press release from the Department provides a succinct summary of the differences.
I specifically want to call to the attention of my colleagues the broadened scope of the 1970 proposed standards.
First. The standards require cars and light trucks to control 90 percent of the evaporative hydrocarbon losses from gas tanks and carburetors;
Second. Gasoline-powered heavy trucks and buses will be required to achieve 35 percent control of hydrocarbons and 37 percent control of carbon monoxide in exhaust; and
Third. Smoke emissions from new diesel-powered vehicles and vehicle engines will be limited.
Mr. President, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which has been charged with the sole responsibility of carrying out the Federal air pollution control program and particularly the national automobile emissions control effort, has once again demonstrated real leadership in the fight to preserve a balance between our technological and environmental demands.
The Secretary and Dr. Middleton are effectively carrying out the congressional directive to move rapidly in this endeavor and are to be congratulated. I ask unanimous consent that information on the proposed new standards and the atmospheric areas definition be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[Attachment 1]
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR AIR POLLUTION CONTROL,
Washington, D.C.,
January 16, 1968.
Eight atmospheric areas covering 48 States were defined today by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as a preliminary step toward designation of air quality control regions.
Under the Air Quality Act of 1967, signed into law last November 21, definition of atmospheric areas is a required step in the development of a system under which States will be called upon to develop and apply air quality standards to deal with air pollution on a regional basis.
Several additional steps must be taken by the Department before States will actually be obligated to develop air quality standards.
The eight atmospheric areas defined today in the Federal Register are the: Great Lakes-Northeast, Mid-Atlantic Coastal, South Florida, Appalachian, Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, California-Oregon Coastal, and Washington Coastal. Areas covering Alaska and Hawaii will be defined later.
Each atmospheric area is a segment of the country in which climate, meteorology, and topography -- all of which influence the capacity of air to dilute and disperse pollution -- are essentially homogeneous.
The next step will be designation of air quality control regions, which will include groups of communities, in the same or different States, that share common air pollution problems. Air quality control regions will be designated on the basis of factors which suggest that a group of communities should be treated as a unit for purpose of setting and implementing air quality standards. Factors to be considered include meteorological and topographical considerations, and jurisdictional boundaries, the extent of urban-industrial concentrations, and the nature and location of air pollution sources.
Atmospheric areas now defined were delineated mainly on the basis of meteorological data on the occurrence of thermal inversions (in which a layer of warm air above an area tends to keep pollutants from being dispersed) and on the speed and direction of winds. The location of major topographical features, such as the Rocky Mountains, was also taken into account.
On an annual basis, the characteristic mixing capacity of the air in each atmospheric area is different from that in adjoining areas, but the differences tend to diminish near the boundary lines between areas.
This means that the boundary lines represent zones of change, rather than sharp cutoff points, and that air, polluted or not, can and does flow from one atmospheric area to another. For these reasons some of the air quality control regions to be designated by the Secretary may include communities which are in different atmospheric areas.
The meteorological data used to define the atmospheric areas were derived principally from cooperative research conducted over the past several years by the National Center for Air Pollution Control of the Public Health Service and the Environmental Science Services Administration of the Department of Commerce.
ATMOSPHERIC AREAS OF THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES
Great Lakes-Northeast area includes nearly all of New England; all except the extreme southern part of New York State; northwestern and a part of northeastern Pennsylvania; the northern two-thirds of Ohio and Indiana; all of Michigan and most of Wisconsin; and the northeastern parts of Illinois (including Chicago) and Minnesota.
Mid-Atlantic Coastal area includes the extreme southwestern part of Connecticut; the extreme southern part of New York State (including New York City and Long Island), almost all of New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia); all of Delaware, the District of Columbia and the eastern parts of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
South Florida area includes the southern half of Florida extending south from a line connecting Daytona Beach on the Atlantic coast to Cedar Key on the Gulf coast.
Appalachian area includes part of northeastern and most of southern and southwestern Pennsylvania (including Pittsburgh); western Maryland; all of West Virginia; the southernmost one-third of Ohio; southeastern Indiana; the western two-thirds of Virginia and North Carolina; all of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; nearly all of Kentucky and Tennessee; northern Florida; and parts of northeastern and southeastern Louisiana (including New Orleans).
Great Plains area includes all except the northeastern parts of Illinois and Minnesota; southwestern Wisconsin; southwestern Indiana; the westernmost parts of Kentucky and Tennessee; all of North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma; most of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Texas; all except the eastern part of Louisiana, the eastern one-third of Montana; and small parts of Wyoming, Colorado. and New Mexico.
Rocky Mountain area includes the western two-thirds of Montana; almost all of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico; all of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona; western Texas; the eastern three-fourths of Washington; and all except the coastal strips of Oregon and California.
California-Oregon Coastal area includes a long coastal strip extending 20 to 50 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.
Washington Coastal area includes the western one-fourth of the State of Washington (including Seattle) ; the eastern boundary of this area is a north-south line about 20 to 30 miles inland from Puget Sound.
[Attachment 2 ]
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR AIR POLLUTION CONTROL.
Washington, D.C.,
January 4, 1968.
Tighter Federal standards to control air pollution from motor vehicles -- effective with the 1970 model-year -- were proposed today by John W. Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
The 1970 standards, which would replace standards effective with the 1968 model year, would lower by about one-third the 1968 level of allowable automotive exhaust pollutants by requiring 77 percent control of hydrocarbon emissions and 68 percent control of carbon monoxide.
In addition, the 1970 standards, published today in the Federal Register, would for the first time:
Require cars and light trucks to control 90 percent of the evaporation of hydrocarbons from gas tanks and carburetors;
Require 35 percent control of hydrocarbons and 37 percent control of carbon monoxide in exhaust of gasoline-powered heavy trucks and buses;
Limit smoke from diesel-powered vehicles to a faint plume.
There is no change from the 1968 standards which requires 100 percent elimination of engine crankcase emissions from automobiles and light trucks.
Interested individuals and organizations have 30 days in which to submit comments on the proposed standards. After this period, the standards -- reflecting any changes which may have been made by the Secretary on the basis of comments received -- will be republished in the Federal Register as final standards for 1970 vehicles.
As proposed, the 1970 standards would limit exhaust emissions from automobiles and light trucks to 2.2 grams of hydrocarbons and 23 grams of carbon monoxide per vehicle mile. The effect of the 1968-model standards is to limit exhaust hydrocarbons from a typical vehicle to 3.2 grams per mile, and carbon monoxide to 33 grams. A typical uncontrolled vehicle gives off 9.7 grams of hydrocarbons and 71 grams of carbon monoxide per vehicle mile.
The proposed 1970 standards also incorporate refinements which ensure a more equitable regulation of exhaust emissions. The 1968 standards are expressed as maximum pollutant concentrations in exhaust gas. In general, the exhaust from small motor vehicles has a higher concentration of pollutants than the exhaust from large vehicles. However, the large vehicle discharges a greater volume of exhaust than the small vehicle, and in traveling a given distance may discharge an equal amount of pollution to the atmosphere. As a first step towards uniform regulation of the amount of pollution discharged by vehicles whatever their size, the 1968 standards specify different exhaust concentration limitations for three engine displacement ranges, imposing the least stringent limitations on the smallest engine range. The concentration limitations are derived from the relationship between engine displacement and the total volume of exhaust discharged per mile. This relationship can be defined only roughly, and within a displacement range the single concentration limitation results in more stringent control of the smaller engines in the range.
Since the development of the 1968 standards the Public Health Service's National Center for Air Pollution Control has been able to define a more useful relationship between a vehicle's weight and the volume of exhaust discharged by the vehicle per mile. On the basis of this new information, the 1970 standards are expressed in terms of weight of pollution per mile, rather than as concentrations, and are applied equitably to 11 weight classifications of vehicles.
The following table compares the 1968 and the proposed 1970 exhaust hydrocarbon limitations on two hypothetical automobiles. Under the 1968 standards both vehicles are classified in the largest engine displacement range, and the exhaust hydrocarbon concentration limit is 275 ppm. At this concentration the smaller vehicle will discharge 2.3 grams of hydrocarbons per mile, and the larger vehicle 4.0 grams. Under the proposed 1970 standards both vehicles would be allowed to discharge no more than 2.2 grams per mile.
[TABLE OMITTED]
In addition to imposing more stringent limitations on exhaust emissions, the proposed standards require that evaporation from gas tank and carburetor of cars and light trucks be limited to "6 grams per test." This test simulates evaporation from gas tank and carburetor from one city trip plus the evaporation caused by expansion and contraction of gas tank vapor during one day.
Control of evaporation will contribute about 15 % to the total reduction of hydrocarbons from vehicles and will noticeably reduce gasoline odor in garages.
For gasoline-powered heavy duty trucks and buses, the proposed standards would limit the discharge of hydrocarbons to 275 parts per million and of carbon monoxide to 1.5 percent by volume.
For diesel engines, the proposed standards would limit the emission of smoke to not more than a 20 percent reduction of light transmission.
Vehicle manufacturers must test representative vehicles in accordance with procedures outlined in the standards to insure their compliance with the standards before they may lawfully offer 1970-model-year vehicles for sale. Although they are not required to do so, the manufacturers may request the Secretary to certify new vehicles and engines as being in compliance with the Federal standards. In doing this, manufacturers must make available to the Department of Health, Education. and Welfare both the results of their own testing and representative vehicles for testing in Federal facilities.
The standards were developed under the authority of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1965, which empower the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to regulate the discharge of any substances from new motor vehicles or engines which, in his judgment, may be a hazard to health or welfare.
The Secretary of Health, Education. and Welfare may revise the standards in accordance with improvements in control technology and in knowledge of the harmful effects of automotive air pollution. Extensive air pollution research has shown that automotive smog contributes to eye and throat irritation and probably to major respiratory diseases in all parts of the United States. Other studies have revealed vegetation and property damage directly attributable to automotive smog in every region of the country.