Ontario Environment Minister Dan Newman is fed up with US industry representatives who are putting the brakes on the new rules for clean air. After years of legal wrangling, it's high time for the industry to quit stalling and start cleaning up the air we all breathe. The new rules would force industry to substantially cut emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides by 2003. Ontario fought alongside the EPA, environmental groups, and other downwind states last year, successfully defending the EPA's new rules against a court challenge by eight states and a number of industry groups. The Court of Appeals issued a decision upholding the EPA rules on March 3, 2000.
Further delay is completely unacceptable.
The provincial government has already announced strong new initiatives to improve air quality in the province, including mandatory monitoring and reporting of harmful air pollutants for electricity generators, emissions performance standards for domestic and imported electricity, and strict limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. These initiatives build on Ontario's strong existing programs for cleaning up the air, including Drive Clean, its Smog Patrol and the comprehensive Anti- Smog Action Plan. The Ontario government also recently placed a freeze on the sale of coal-fired generating facilities pending an environmental review.