III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 729 

Expressing the opposition of the Senate to a proposed regulation by the 

Environmental Protection Agency, now under review in the Office of 

Management and Budget, that would undercut air quality protections 

established by Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 

for national parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, and 

national seashores. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2008 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. 

WARNER, Mr. BINGAMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SALAZAR, Mrs. DOLE, and 

Mr. TESTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the opposition of the Senate to a proposed regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency, now under 

review in the Office of Management and Budget, that 

would undercut air quality protections established by 

Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 

for national parks, national wilderness areas, national 

monuments, and national seashores. 

Whereas, in 1977, under part C of title I of the Clean Air 

Act (42 U.S.C. 7470 et seq.), the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program was established ‘‘to 

preserve, protect, and enhance the air quality in national 


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•SRES 729 IS 

parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, 

national seashores, and other areas of special national or 

regional natural, recreational, scenic, or historic value’’, 

which areas are known as class I areas; 

Whereas Congress sought to protect air quality in class I 

areas through, among other things, the establishment of 

strict limits on additional amounts of air pollution, 

known as increments, allowed in class I areas over baseline conditions; 

Whereas Congress required protection of air quality not just 

from long-term pollution increases, but also from shortterm fluctuations and spikes, and Congress therefore created and required both annual and short-term increments; 

Whereas, on June 6, 2007, the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) proposed a rule under the PSD program 

that would replace the congressionally-established shortterm pollution increments with less protective annual average emission rates; 

Whereas, according to the National Park Service Comments 

on EPA’s Proposed Rule Regarding PSD Increment 

Modeling Procedures Clarification/Modification (ER No.: 

DEC–06/0006), ‘‘the protection of short term PSD increments cannot be assured using annual average emission 

rates’’, and the proposed rule ‘‘ignores . . . reality’’; 

Whereas EPA’s proposed rule would make multiple additional 

changes to the PSD program that conflict with 

Congress’s statutory scheme, set forth in section 160 of 

the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7470), ‘‘to preserve, protect, and enhance the air quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, national 


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•SRES 729 IS 

seashores, and other areas of special national or regional 

natural, recreational, scenic, or historic value’’; 

Whereas during EPA’s initial review of the PSD proposal in 

2007, each of EPA’s 10 regional offices expressed grave 

concerns that the changes to the PSD program proposed 

by EPA would undermine protection of air quality in 

class I areas; 

Whereas EPA submitted a proposed PSD rule to the Office 

of Management and Budget in October 2008 that did not 

incorporate the concerns expressed by the National Park 

Service and EPA regional offices; 

Whereas half of EPA’s 10 regional administrators formally 

dissented from the draft final rule now under review in 

the Office of Management and Budget, and 4 other EPA 

regional administrators criticized the draft final rule in 

writing; and 

Whereas the National Park Service and all 10 EPA regional 

offices have uniformly concluded that EPA’s proposed 

changes to the PSD program would make it easier for 

large pollution sources to locate closer to national parks, 

national wilderness areas, national monuments, and national seashores, leading to more harmful air pollution in 

these areas: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes that air pollution levels in class 

3 I areas can vary significantly over the course of a 

4 year, a month, or even a day, and that short-term 

5 pollution spikes are capable of endangering visitors, 

6 wildlife, and scenic values in national parks, national 


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•SRES 729 IS 

1 wilderness areas, national monuments, national sea2 shores, and other class I areas; 

3 (2) affirms that the PSD program is intended 

4 to preserve, protect, and enhance air quality in class 

5 I areas not just over the long term, but also over the 

6 shorter time periods delineated in the Clean Air Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

8 (3) finds that EPA has proposed multiple 

9 changes to the PSD program that would conflict 

10 with Congress’s statutory scheme to preserve, pro11 tect, and enhance the air quality in national parks, 

12 national wilderness areas, national monuments, na13 tional seashores, and other areas of special natural, 

14 recreational, scenic, or historic value; and 

15 (4) expresses its opposition to EPA’s proposed 

16 rule entitled ‘‘Prevention of Significant Deterioration 

17 New Source Review: Refinement of Increment Mod18 eling Procedures’’ (72 Fed. Reg. 31372 (June 6, 

19 2007)), and urges the rule be withdrawn. 

Æ 


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