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S.J.R. 12 Enrolled
A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO
PARTICULATE MATTER AND OZONE STANDARDS NEWLY PROPOSED BY THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; URGING FURTHER STUDY BEFORE
PROMULGATING NEW STANDARDS; REQUESTING THAT EXISTING
STANDARDS CONTINUE UNTIL DATA CAN CONFIRM THAT BENEFITS
OUTWEIGH THE COSTS OF COMPLIANCE; REQUESTING THAT THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY IDENTIFY ANY ADMINISTRATIVE
AND ECONOMIC BURDENS FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES CAUSED BY
ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED STANDARDS; AND REQUESTING THAT THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY SUPPORT STATE AND TRIBAL
EFFORTS TO SIMPLIFY COMPLIANCE PLANS AND IDENTIFY ECONOMIC
APPROACHES AS ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL REGULATORY
APPROACHES.
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
WHEREAS the National Ambient Air Quality Standards should be established at levels
necessary to protect public health, based on sound, technical, and scientific data;
WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency is under court order to
review the particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standard and must make a final
decision by June 28, 1997;
WHEREAS on November 27, 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed
tightening the particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard by adding a separate
standard for PM 2.5 to the existing PM 10 standard;
WHEREAS since the Clean Air Act was signed into law in 1970, the American public
continues to benefit from air quality programs that have resulted in significant decreases in
emissions of all the six criteria air pollutants and improved air quality, including decreases in
ambient concentrations of all criteria pollutants despite growth in population and vehicle use, and
a 20 percent decrease in ambient concentrations of PM 10 between 1985 and 1994;
WHEREAS recent epidemiological studies indicate a correlation between ambient PM
concentrations and adverse health effects, raising serious concerns that must be promptly and
thoroughly investigated;
WHEREAS the Environmental Protection Agency has indicated a comprehensive research
program is needed to determine proper ambient concentrations and control strategies to protect
public health, and Congress has given the agency $18.8 million to fund significant new research on
health effects, exposure, monitoring, and modeling studies for particulate matter;
WHEREAS additional research is needed because there is very little PM 2.5 monitoring data,
and current research indicates there is insufficient data available to decide what changes, if any,
should be made to the current particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard;
WHEREAS the Environmental Protection Agency's independent Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee has noted that a number of serious questions remain unanswered and concluded
that "our understanding of the health effects of [particulates] is far from complete";
WHEREAS establishment of a new PM 2.5 standard could result in the addition of many new
nonattainment areas in the United States, placing potentially unjustified financial and regulatory
burdens upon consumers, businesses, and vehicle users as states impose stringent new control
technologies designed to bring areas into compliance with new standards not based on sound
scientific principles;
WHEREAS on November 27, 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency also proposed a
new and more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, though no court order
required them to do so and study of the proposed new ozone standard has also not been completed;
WHEREAS according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the new ozone standard will
increase the number of ozone nonattainment areas nationally by more than three times, to more than
330 counties; and
WHEREAS the Environmental Protection Agency's own analysis concludes that the cost of
complying with the new ozone standard will be many times greater than the anticipated health
benefits:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah urge the
Environmental Protection Agency to do the substantial scientific research program called for by the
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, in order to reduce the uncertainties in estimating the
health risk of exposure to particulate matter, and to answer the critical questions regarding causality,
toxicological mechanisms, exposure, confounders, measurement errors, and statistical modeling
before establishing a new PM 2.5 standard or revising the PM 10 standard.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature also call upon the Environmental
Protection Agency to retain the existing ozone standard until study shows the health benefits
outweigh the costs of complying with the proposed standard.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature consider, as the best method of
protecting public health, the gathering of data and the conducting of research and analysis to clearly
identify the pollutants responsible for adverse health effects before new standards, if necessary, are
set and control programs implemented to reduce emissions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature call upon the Environmental Protection
Agency to end the setting of standards before gathering data and completing research and analysis,
as it did in this case, and seek facts before establishing new standards.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature request that the Environmental
Protection Agency identify any unfunded mandates or other administrative and economic burdens
for state, local, or tribal governments caused by adoption of the proposed new particulate matter and
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature request that the Environmental
Protection Agency support work by states and tribes to simplify the process of developing plans to
maintain compliance with existing National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and to identify
market-based and other economic approaches as an alternative to traditional regulatory approaches.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to the administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency, the administrator of Environmental Protection Agency
Region Eight, and the members of Utah's congressional delegation.
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