I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 227 

To reduce acid deposition under the Clean Air Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Mr. SWEENEY (for himself, Mr. MCHUGH, and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

A BILL 

To reduce acid deposition under the Clean Air Act, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Acid Rain Control 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN TOTAL ANNUAL EMISSIONS OF SUL7 FUR DIOXIDE BY UTILITY UNITS. 

8 The second sentence of section 403(a) of the Clean 

9 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7651b) is amended by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, and such 8.90 million tons 
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1 amount shall be reduced to 4.45 million tons for each of 

2 calendar years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, and shall be 

3 further reduced to 3 million tons for calendar years there4 after.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN TOTAL ANNUAL EMISSIONS OF NI6 TROGEN OXIDES BY AFFECTED FACILITIES. 

7 (a) TOTAL ANNUAL EMISSIONS.—The Administrator 

8 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall ensure that 

9 total annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by affected facili10 ties in the 50 States and the District of Columbia do not 

11 exceed— 

12 (1) 2.10 million tons for each of calendar years 

13 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013; and 

14 (2) 1.70 million tons for calendar year 2014 

15 and each calendar year thereafter. 

16 (b) PENALTY.—The owner or operator of any af17 fected facility that emits nitrogen oxides for any calendar 

18 year after 2009 in excess of the facility’s emissions limita19 tion requirement, or any allowance the owner or operator 

20 holds for the facility for that calendar year, under regula21 tions promulgated under this Act or title IV of the Clean 

22 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7651 et seq.)— 

23 (1) shall be liable for the payment of an excess 

24 emissions penalty under section 411 of such title (42 

25 U.S.C. 7651j), except that the penalty shall be cal-
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1 culated on the basis of the number of tons emitted 

2 in excess of the facility’s emissions limitation re3 quirement multiplied by $6,000; and 

4 (2) shall be liable to offset the excess emissions 

5 by an equal tonnage amount in the manner applica6 ble under section 411 of such title (42 U.S.C. 7651j) 

7 to the owner or operator of any affected source that 

8 emits excess sulfur dioxide. 

9 (c) AFFECTED FACILITY.—For purposes of this sec10 tion, the term ‘‘affected facility’’ means a facility with 1 

11 or more combustion units that serve at least 1 electricity 

12 generator with a capacity not less than 25 megawatts. 

13 SEC. 4. MERCURY EMISSION CONTROL. 

14 (a) REGULATION.—Not later than March 15, 2005, 

15 the Administrator shall promulgate a regulation control16 ling electric utility and industrial source emissions of mer17 cury in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

18 (b) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER.—The Adminis19 trator may not allow any electric utility or other industrial 

20 source to transfer any mercury emission allowance. 

21 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall promul23 gate regulations to carry out sections 2, 3, and 4 that— 
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1 (1) may, except in the case of mercury, provide 

2 for market-oriented mechanisms, such as emissions 

3 trading, auctions, or other allocation methods; 

4 (2) shall prevent localized adverse effects on 

5 public health and the environment; and 

6 (3) shall ensure that significant emission reduc7 tions are achieved in both the Eastern and Western 

8 Regions of the United States. 

9 (b) DEADLINE.—The Administrator shall promul10 gate— 

11 (1) the regulations required under subsection 

12 (a) to carry out sections 2 and 3 not later than 2 

13 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; 

14 and 

15 (2) the regulations required under subsection 

16 (a) to carry out section 4 not later than March 15, 

17 2005. 

18 SEC. 6. REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS. 

19 (a) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

21 2009, the Administrator shall submit to the Con22 gress a report identifying objectives for scientifically 

23 credible environmental indicators, as determined by 

24 the Administrator, that are sufficient to protect sen25 sitive ecosystems of the Adirondack Mountains, mid- 
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1 Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, and 

2 Southern Blue Ridge Mountains, and water bodies 

3 of the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Long Island 

4 Sound, and the Chesapeake Bay. 

5 (2) ACID NEUTRALIZING CAPACITY.—The re6 port shall— 

7 (A) include acid neutralizing capacity as 

8 an indicator; and 

9 (B) identify as an objective the objective of 

10 increasing the proportion of water bodies in 

11 sensitive receptor areas with an acid neutral12 izing capacity greater than zero from the pro13 portion identified in surveys begun in 1984. 

14 (3) UPDATED REPORT.—Not later than Decem15 ber 31, 2013, the Administrator shall submit to the 

16 Congress a report updating the report under para17 graph (1) and assessing the status and trends of 

18 various environmental indicators for the regional 

19 ecosystems referred to in paragraph (1). 

20 (4) REPORTS UNDER THE NATIONAL ACID PRE21 CIPITATION ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The reports 

22 under this subsection shall be subject to the require23 ments applicable to a report under section 

24 103(j)(3)(E) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 7403(j)(3)(E)). 
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1 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

2 (1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than Decem3 ber 31, 2013, the Administrator shall determine 

4 whether emissions reductions called for in this Act 

5 are sufficient to ensure achievement of the objectives 

6 stated in subsection (a)(1). 

7 (2) PROMULGATION.—If the Administrator 

8 finds under paragraph (1) that emission reductions 

9 are not sufficient to ensure achievement of the objec10 tives identified in subsection (a)(1), the Adminis11 trator shall promulgate, not later than 2 years after 

12 making the finding, such regulations, including 

13 modification of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide al14 lowance allocations or any such measure, as the Ad15 ministrator determines are necessary to protect the 

16 sensitive ecosystems described in subsection (a)(1). 

17 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATOR. 

18 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ 

19 means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency. 

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