HOUSE APPROVES CLEAN AIR BILL
Contact: Tom Mather (919) 715-7408
Date: July 7, 1999
RALEIGH -- North Carolina moved a step closer today toward enacting a major portion of a comprehensive air-
quality package that Gov. Jim Hunt proposed in April to protect public health, the environment and jobs.
The N.C. House of Representatives gave final approval to the Ambient Air Quality Improvements (Senate Bill 953),
legislation that expands and improves programs for reducing air pollution from cars and trucks. The bill passed on an 83-29
vote and now goes to the state Senate for consideration.
"We can’t ignore that we face a major problem in North Carolina when our children can’t play outdoors, when our
hospitals are treating more and more people with breathing problems, and when our forests, crops and tourist industry are
affected because of polluted air," Hunt said. "The House approval of this bill is a major step forward, I am encouraged that
the Senate leadership intends to move this legislation quickly."
Secretary Wayne McDevitt of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources said: "I am pleased that
legislators have recognized the importance of our air quality problems by considering this legislation and elevating the debate.
The House’s adoption of the Clean Air bill shows a commitment toward dealing with these problems."
The bill is aimed at reducing motor vehicle emissions that contribute to ozone, the primary component of smog and
the most widespread air quality problem in North Carolina. Exhaust from cars and trucks accounts for about half of the
ozone-forming pollution statewide and up to 90 percent in major metropolitan areas. If enacted, the bill would:
- Establish statewide goals for cutting emissions of nitrogen oxides, the major ozone-forming pollutant in North
Carolina, and for reducing the growth of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
- Require the use of low-sulfur gasoline statewide. Removing sulfur from gasoline would allow the air pollution
controls in cars and trucks to work better and last longer.
- Expand and improve the inspection and maintenance program for testing exhaust from cars and trucks.
- Set goals for the purchase of low-emission vehicles for the state motor fleet, and encourage the purchase of such
vehicles for buses used by public school and transportation systems.
- Direct the state Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to develop an incentives program to promote
voluntary reductions in air pollution.
- Direct the Department of Transportation to consider ways to reduce air pollution in designing transportation projects.
The low-sulfur fuel requirement is expected to reduce ozone-forming pollutants by about 10 percent statewide.
Under that provision, all gasoline sold in the state would have to contain less than 30 parts per million of sulfur by January 1,
2004. The bill would allow the governor to set a different deadline if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopts
national rules requiring low-sulfur gasoline by a different date.
The changes in the inspection and maintenance program for motor vehicles also would reduce ozone-forming
pollutants by about 10 percent. Under that provision, the program would be expanded from nine counties now to 48 counties
by January 1, 2006. The bill also would require inspection stations to acquire new equipment that tests exhaust for nitrogen oxides.
The legislation focuses on motor vehicles because the EMC and the state Division of Air Quality (DAQ) already have
the authority to regulate air emissions from utilities, factories and other stationary sources. The Governor’s Clean Air Plan
also calls for substantial cutbacks in nitrogen oxide emissions from the state’s largest utilities, and the EMC plans to start
considering rules to carry out that proposal later this year.
Hunt announced his Clean Air Plan at the Governors’ Summit on Mountain Air Quality in April. Further information
about the Clean Air Plan and legislation can be found at the DAQ’s website, http://daq.state.nc.us/.
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Date Posted: July 9, 1999