Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Public Works

Senator MUSKIE. The subcommittee will be in order. I hope the air is clear in here. I have a brief opening statement; at least I will try to make it brief which is a little difficult.

On December 17, 1963, President Johnson signed into law the Clean Air Act which replaced previous Federal legislation in the air pollution field and provided the groundwork for the initiation of a comprehensive national program for the prevention and control of air pollution.

It was recognized that the passage of the Clean Air Act provided an excellent legislative vehicle for undertaking this vital program. It was also recognized that further legislative action would probably be necessary to bolster up certain portions of the act.

The additional legislative needs were brought into focus during our field and technical hearings which were conducted during the first part of 1964. I believe that our subcommittee report entitled "Steps Toward Clean Air" provides an excellent and adequate justification for the legislative proposals contained in S. 306, which we have before us today.

The legislation which we are considering will deal with the following problem areas of air pollution:

Section 1 provides for (1) acceleration of research on means of controlling emissions from carburetors and fuel tanks and calls for study on means of controlling oxides of nitrogen and aldehydes from gasoline and diesel engines; (2) provides for representation of the diesel-powered vehicle industry on the Automotive and Fuel Pollution Committee authorized in the Clean Air Act; (3) authorizes Federal Air Pollution Control Laboratory; and (4) authorizes the establishment of a technical committee to deal with the problem of oxides of sulfur.

Section 2 authorizes $100 million annually for 3 fiscal years in grants to construct facilities for solid-waste disposal.

Section 3 prescribes (1) standards of emissions for gasoline-powered vehicles and provides for establishment of criteria for diesel-powed vehicles, and (2) authorizes $25 million to establish a program of inspection and maintenance to insure compliance with standards of emissions from automotive vehicles.

I believe that each of the items proposed by S. 306 are practicable of accomplishment and are needed to implement the Clean Air Act. It has been learned that the U.S. automotive industry has installed blowby equipment to control crankcase emissions, starting with the 1963 models, on a national basis. It has been noted, however, that although such devices have been installed since 1963 on Americanmade automobiles, there still is the unresolved question of what is being done with respect to imported vehicles.

In addition, devices have been tested and approved for use in California which are replacements for elements of the exhaust system. The principal component is a specifically designed and constructed muffler in which exhaust gases are burned, either in the presence of a catalyst or by a direct flame to convert hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide into harmless materials. In addition, the automotive industry has indicated that certain engine modifications that are commercially practicable could be made to effect a desirable degree of reduction in exhaust emissions.

There is need for additional research into the problem of controlling other detrimental emissions from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles and to finally set standards of allowable limit for emissions other than hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. It has been indicated that oxides of nitrogen, which appear in engine exhaust gases, as well as the effluent of other combustion processes, also play an important role in photochemical air pollution.

Also, it would be futile to require the equipping of automotive vehicles with emission control facilities unless there is established a program of inspection to insure continued and proper operation of such vehicles.

A substantial amount of work has been done in studying and developing means of reducing the pollution of the atmosphere by sulfur gases released in the process of fuel combustion. However, efforts need to be accelerated in this field.

We have learned something about the scope and magnitude of the solid waste disposal problem in our Nation. It is of particular concern when it is realized that in our country we must dispose of 520 million pounds daily of refuse which must be removed and disposed of either through burning, burial, or conversion into forms of organic matter for final disposition, or put to useful purposes.

The grant program can be used as an inducement to communities and States to face up to the problem of disposal of solid waste. This same type of program in the water pollution control field is largely responsible for reducing potential sewage discharge into our water supplies.

There are many unresolved technical problems in the field of air pollution control; hence, it is vital that we establish a well-equipped and staffed laboratory to cope with these problems.

I believe that the legislation which we are considering here today, tomorrow in Detroit, and again here on Friday, the 8th of April, is a necessary addition to the Clean Air Act to implement its basic objectives of protecting and preserving our air resources.

As I pointed out earlier, each of the items proposed in S. 306 are practical of accomplishment, and I believe they represent a reasonable legislative approach to attain the desired objective.

I would like to further highlight my statement by saying that those of us on the subcommittee-the other members present, will, of course, speak for themselves are convinced that our hearings, first of all, on the Clean Air Act of 1963 and subsequently in field hearings around the country, established the need for continued and increased action as fast as the technology and the economics of the problem permit.

We believe unless we come to grips in a more effective way with means for dealing with the air pollution problem, we will be slipping behind in dealing with what we consider to be an urgent national problem.

The most controversial item, I suspect, in S. 306 is the proposal to deal with pollution from the automotive vehicle. I think it is accurate to say that the subcommittee members who had the opportunity to participate in the field hearings have the very strong impression that the automobile is the single most important contributor to the problem of air pollution in metropolitan areas and in all areas of the country.

We consider further that this problem of automotive pollution is not likely to be brought under control short of national action. This is not to say that we open these hearings with our minds closed to the facts that may be presented by people who have a different impression of the urgency of the problem and the need for action now, but it is to say that as these hearings open, this is my very strong impression of the problem and of what needs to be done.

I think many members of the subcommittee share that impression. Senator Boggs, would you care to comment at this point?

Senator BOGGS. Mr. Chairman, I want to compliment you on the outstanding leadership you have given to recognition of the air pollution problem throughout the country. I think the previous work and the legislation enacted in this field is a basis to build on and certainly a very important step forward. I am sure these hearings that we are beginning today will be of great assistance to this committee and to the Nation as we work on this air pollution problem. We must keep current with it and make every effort to get ahead of it and keep it under control for the best interest of all our people.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve on this committee with you and our colleagues on this committee. I feel it is one of the important assignments that Congress must meet in behalf of the American people and the responsibility of this committee is very great indeed. In saying that, I want to say as we hear the distinguished people, from all over the country offer their views and recommendations and experience in this field; those views and recommendations will be received with great appreciation and will be of great value and a big help to the committee.

Senator MUSKIE. Thank you very much, Senator Boggs. I think we all share your feeling that the work of the committee has been con

ducted on a cooperative basis with an unusually high level of interest on the part of all members of the committee. I am grateful to you for your leadership in this work.

Senator Moss?

Senator Moss. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think we have made a reasonable start in the field control of air pollution but much more remains to be done before we have the problem under control. I believe that these hearings are going to contribute to our fund of information to enable us to move ahead in solving the problem.

Therefore, I am looking forward to the hearings today and the remainder of the week when we will be hearing from various experts in this field.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a statement at this time concerning the air pollution problems in my State of Utah.

Senator MUSKIE. Certainly, you may do so.

Senator Moss. Mr. Chairman, as one of the sponsors of the bill before us, and as a member of the subcommittee, I will take only a few minutes of our time here this morning. But I do want to tell you quickly about some of the air pollution problems in my State of Utah, and what the State is trying to do to meet them, as I feel such a discussion will be helpful to us in our consideration of this legislation.

Utah, a State of wide-open spaces, has on the whole been blessed with clean, pure air. Over the years, however, three air pollution problems have reared themselves to injure plant and animal life and to constitute a public nuisance:

(1) Sulfur dioxide in the Salt Lake Valley. This comes principally from nonferrous smelters, burning of coal, gasoline combustion, and petroleum refining.

(2) Smoke and smog along the Wasatch Front and in other localized areas. The major sources are burning of coal, open burning on municipal dump grounds and in junkyards, and waste disposal around private homes.

(3) Fluorides resulting from processing of Utah ores by steel mills, brick and ceramic plants, phosphate fertilizer plants, and general combustion processes.

Industry has made substantial progress in alleviating some of the pollutants resulting from its operations by installing control equipment, and has supplemented this action with further surveys and research, and with good monitoring practices for pollution sources. A number of municipalities have instigated pollution control programs, in which there has been considerable citizen cooperation, and we have been able to keep air pollution fairly well under control.

With the assistance from the U.S. Public Health Service, Utah has developed, and presently is expanding, a monitoring network designed to permit early detection of atmospheric radioactivity and subsequent measurements of specific radionuclides in milk, water, and other foods or substances of possible involvement. A modern radiological health laboratory has similarly been developed to provide the necessary meas urements capability, assuming that needed personnel for its operation can be financed.

The State health department, of which Dr. C. D. Carlyle Thompson is director, has been designated as the air pollution control agency, and is presently conducting some new, but limited, studies of air pollution,

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