US Panel Endorses Strict Local Tailpipe Standards
Date: 17-Mar-06
Country: US
"California should continue its pioneering role in setting mobile-source emissions standards," the NRC said. "The role will aid the state's effort to achieve air quality goals and will allow it to continue to be a proving ground for new emissions-control technologies that benefit California and the rest of the nation."
The council is a private nonprofit institution which Congress calls on to advise policymakers on scientific and technical matters.
Automakers and energy companies are often at odds with California because of the state's efforts to pursue much stricter air pollution control measures than federal standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Clean Air Act, enacted in 1970, Congress gave California special authority to set its own pollution controlling measures to curb harmful smog, a chronic problem in Los Angeles and other major US cities. But many of the industries affected by the state's rules want Congress to strip California of its power because they perceive the rules as too expensive and unnecessary.
Under a 2003 EPA spending bill, Republican Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri called on NRC to study the issue. Bond was unhappy with California efforts to adopt strict small engine emission rules; Milwaukee-based Briggs and Stratton Corp. operates two plants in the state and the company was concerned the rules would be too expensive.
Several other states have adopted California emission standards over the years.
In its report, the expert panel said it considered several changes to the status quo, but it could not reach a consensus. NRC called on federal and state regulators to do a better job of communicating with each other on testing and certification procedures.
The next step for lawmakers sympathetic to industry concerns is not yet clear. A spokesperson for Bond said the lawmaker "will continue to ensure that as California acts to clean up its own mess, that at a minimum, California's actions do not hurt Missouri workers and families."
Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat,
said the report "validated California's pioneering efforts to adopt the toughest smog controls in the nation."
Feinstein said the EPA is expected to issue its own study this week on whether catalytic converters used to control emissions on lawnmowers, chainsaws, and leafblowers are safe.
"A number of small engine manufacturers have publicly stated that no safety problems for consumers would be caused by the proposed air quality rule, and we expect the EPA's report will reach similar conclusion," she said.
Environmental groups and state air pollution administrators praised the report.
"We are pleased that the NRC committee did not recommend any changes -- legislative or regulatory -- to restrict the ability of states to adopt California's motor vehicle standards. It is responsible public policy to maintain the rights of states without imposing additional hurdles," said S. William Becker, executive director of the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials.
Some automakers, meanwhile, struck a conciliatory chord.
"We are pleased that the report recognizes the tremendous achievements in smog-forming emission reductions over the past 30 years from automobiles, and we will continue to work with EPA and California to address future emissions challenges," the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said.
