I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3886
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
conduct a feasibility study for applying airport bubbles as a method
of identifying, assessing, and reducing the adverse environmental impacts
of airport ground and flight operations and improving the overall quality
of the environment, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 6, 2002
Mr. ROTHMAN (for himself and Mr. WEINER) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to conduct a feasibility study for applying
airport bubbles as a method of identifying, assessing,
and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of air-
port ground and flight operations and improving the
overall quality of the environment, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Right to Know About
Airport Pollution Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the serious ground level ozone, noise, water
pollution, and solid waste disposal problems attend-
ant to airport operations require a thorough evalua-
tion of all significant sources of pollution;
(2) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et
seq.)—
(A) requires each State to reduce emis-
sions contributing to ground level ozone prob-
lems and maintain those reductions; and
(B) requires the Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency to study, in ad-
dition to other sources, the effects of sporadic,
extreme noise (such as jet noise near airports)
on public health and welfare;
(3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) establishes a regulatory
and enforcement program for discharges of wastes
into waters;
(4) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300f et seq.) establishes primary drinking water
standards and a ground water control program;
(5) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.
6901 et seq.) regulates management and disposal of
solid and hazardous waste;
(6) a study of air pollution problems in
California—
(A) has determined that airports are sig-
nificant sources of air pollution; and
(B) has led to the creation of an airport
bubble concept; and
(7) the airport bubble concept is an approach
that—
(A) treats an airport and the area within
a specific radius around the airport as a single
source of pollution that emits a range of pollut-
ants, including air, noise, water, and solid
waste; and
(B) seeks, by implementation of specific
programs or regulations, to reduce the pollution
from each source within the bubble and thereby
reduce the overall pollution in that area.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to require
the Administrator to conduct—
(1) a feasibility study for applying airport bub-
bles to airports as a method of assessing and reduc-
ing, where appropriate, air, noise, water, and solid
waste pollution in and around the airports and im-
proving overall environmental quality; and
(2) a study of air pollutant emission standards
established by the Environmental Protection Agency
for airplane engines to determine whether it is fea-
sible and desirable to strengthen the standards.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(2) AIRPORT BUBBLE.—The term ‘‘airport bub-
ble’’ means an area—
(A) in and around an airport (or other fa-
cility using aircraft) within which sources of
pollution and levels of pollution from those
sources are to be identified and reduced; and
(B) containing a variety of types of air,
noise, water, and solid waste sources of pollu-
tion in which the aggregate of each type of pol-
lutant from the respective sources is regulated
as if the various sources were a single source.
SEC. 4. STUDY OF USING AIRPORT BUBBLES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall conduct
a study to determine the feasibility of regulating air, noise,