Date: 1990-05-23
Speaker: THOMAS A. LUKEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. the committee amendment to title I of the bill includes important revisions to the section on consumer or commercial products. The bill requires a comprehensive. study on the ozone implications of these products. It is expected that the study will provide a muchneeded data base and a better understanding of the relative net environmental impacts of these products. This will provide a sound basis for regulation. At the conclusion of the study. the EPA Administrator is required to list those categories of products that the Administrator determines. based on the study. account for at least 80 percent of the VOC emissions. on a reacRH2846 tivityadjusted basis. from consumer or commercial products in areas that violate the NAAQS for ozone. Thereafter. the Administrator is to list four groups and promulgate regulations every 2 years for one group until all groups are subject to best available controls. Mr. Chairman. I rise to compliment the chairman and my colleague Mr. WAXMAN on the long hours of hard work they put into the evolution of the consumer or commercial products section of the bill. I think that the committee has reached a sensible approach to a very complicated subject. I am particularly pleased that the language now emphasizes the importance of photochemical reactivity as a key criterion to be used by the Administrator in determining the categories of emissions to be listed. It is commendable that we are recognizing the fundamentals of atmospheric chemistry in this area by requiring that emissions be considered on a reactivityadjusted basis before being considered for regulation. The term reactivityadjusted basis requires a focus of regulatory controls on the more reactive VOCs by relating the amount of urban ozone formed to the weight of the VOC emitted to the ambient air. thereby achieving the most costeffective control measures. I am pleased that we have provided the Administrator very specific factors for determining the criteria for selecting product categories which are to be subject to control. It is notable that. as the recent OTA report "Catching Our Breath" points out. some 25 percent of the national VOC emissions inventory may result from unregulated sources. of which OTA includes commercial and consumer products as one of a number of contributors. along with other sources such as surface coatings. degreasing. drycleaning. and asphalt paving. The committees definition of "consumer or commercial product" Is. however. different from OTAs. The committees definition of "consumer or commercial products" is much broader and is intended to encompass the universe of sources referenced in the OTA report as well as other sources. I am especially gratified that we have not singled out any particular products or form of product for regulation. but. rather. we have focused on ambient air VOC emissions from the universe of consumer or commercial products as specifically defined in the bill. which includes VOCs that may result from the use. consumption. storage. disposal. destruction. or decomposition of such products. The committee also recognizes that efforts to decrease VOC emissions from these products are ongoing and are expected to increase after enactment. even. before the best available control regulations are promulgated. Accordingly. the bill recognizes these efforts and requires the Administrator to give credit for postenactment reductions when listing categories and promulgating regulations of the four product groups.