Experience in water pollution abatement has shown that the negative policy of attempting to use the full capacity of water to assimilate wastes has not always produced desired results. The Congress is currently considering a bill that will establish a positive national water pollution control policy of keeping water as clean as possible by providing for the prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution. In the light of this policy and its own experience in resource planning, our commission suggests for your consideration an air resource policy aimed at keeping the air as clean as practicable-rather than using the full capacity of the atmosphere to dilute and diffuse pollutants and contaminants. Such a policy will protect the quality of the air resource of northeastern Illinois and in doing so will protect the health and productive capacity of its population. A program that advocates keeping the air clean is a dynamic approach which can readily accommodate future growth and development and into which new industry and technology can be accommodated. Growth today is concentrated in metropolitan areas. The population of northeastern Illinois is expected to increase from the present 6,500,000 to over 10 million by the year 2000. This growth and the expansion of land development in the suburban areas has the potential to adversely affect the environment. Conversely, this growth with its accompanying land development suggests the possibility of land use regulations and controls as a method of protecting the quality of the air resource. In addition, technological innovations have the potential to expand the number of alternative actions that can be undertaken to abate air pollution. AIR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The commission believes that an air pollution program should relate atmospheric conditions to land use and projected urban growth. This is especially true in our metropolitan area where there are varying flows of air, traffic, and people. An understanding of the interrelationships between atmospheric conditions and land use will aid in formulating and designing future land use arrangements and population distribution to provide a healthful environment. By adequate considering the air resource when planning particular development patterns which include both circulation and land use relationships, the pollutant concentration can be minimized on both local and metropolitan scales. For example, pollutant concentrations resulting from a broad dispersal of industry with intervening green buffers may be less than what would result from a pattern that centralizes industry in a few locations. The commission, in recognition of this approach, was instrumental in getting legislation enacted by the Illinois General Assembly in 1961 which grants powers to counties and municipalities to regulate, "for the purposes of lessening or preventing the discharge of air contaminants," building equipment and lot uses that discharge air contaminants. This legislation is broad enough to permit the orientation of new structures to take advantage of natural meteorological and topographic conditions to best minimize pollutant concentrations. This represents the preventive rather than the curative approach to the air pollution problem. To help make such measures effective, a metropolitan air resource management study is needed to formulate a strategy that takes into consideration alternative measures to abate air pollution at various governmental levels. The commission is currently involved in the development of a cooperative study utilizing Federal, State, city of Chicago, and commission funds that will analyze the theoretical alternatives for air pollution abatement and determine those alternatives which are viable in northeastern Illinois. In addition, the air management study should give cognizance to technological change, socioeconomic guides, and economic feasibility, and it should consider possible incentives to control air pollution at the source. The commission feels that policy for air resource management should be on a metropolitan or regional level since air pollution does not stop at political boundaries. However, specific regulations and ordinances as they relate to air pollution need not be metropolitan in scope, but should be designed to solve the unique air pollution problems of specific areas-thereby avoiding the weakness of a watereddown compromise of regulations that are too general because they are designed to cover all situations. NEEDED ACTION Planning studies dealing with the interrelationships of land and water and the capabilities of these resources to meet present and future metropolitan needs are currently underway. Our commission recognizes the importance of a third element of the physical environmentthe air resource. These three elements-land, water, and air—are the physical base upon which metropolitan plans are founded. Federal cooperation, encouragement, and financial assistance have accelerated and strengthened considerably the research and planning activities of our commission with regard to the development and management of land and water resources. Correspondingly, Federal cooperation and financial assistance to aid in the formulation of a strategy for the management of the air resource is not only desirable but urgently needed. Such a strategy will permit the governmental units of northeastern Illinois to make more rational decisions with regard to air pollution. Currently there are two Federal programs that could provide assistance to planning agencies to undertake air resource management studies. These are the 701 urban planning assistance grants of the Housing and Home Finance Agency and the grant provisions of the recent Clean Air Act. To date, however, there have not been any such studies undertaken. The Northeastern Illinois Metropolitan Area Planning Commission strongly urges that as increased Federal interest is focused on air pollution, the role of planning in air resource management be duly considered. Thank you, very much. I have here, if you would like, copies of reports showing the work that the commission does, its goals and its program, which includes air pollution, and a copy of our annual report of last year, which I believe the Secretary would like. Senator MUSKIE. Fine. We will receive it in the committee files, and we may include some portions of it in the printed record of these hearings. I will ask the staff to evaluate it for that purpose. With respect to the proposed air resource management studies you speak of, the planning program, and the Clean Air Act, has application been made under this 701 urban planning assistance grants of the Housing and Home Finance Agency? General DAVIS. Yes. Senator MUSKIE. In what amount? General DAVIS. $205,000, as I recall. Senator MUSKIE. And has it been granted? General DAVIS. No, it is under consideration now. Senator MUSKIE. Is it under consideration in Washington? Has it reached Washington yet? General DAVIS. Yes, sir it has; it is there now. Senator MUSKIE. And has it prospects of being acted on favorably? General DAVIS. Yes; we have indications that it will be acted on favorably, and that of course is in cooperation with the city, county, and State, as well as our planning commission. Senator MUSKIE. It is a joint application, is it? General DAVIS. Yes-no, it is an application signed by us. General DAVIS. I have forgotten, but we have our staff here. Bob, with whom have you been in contact on the 701 application in Washington? Mr. DUCHARME. Mr. Hayes in Washington and Mr. Swanson in the regional office, and the rest of the staff. Senator MUSKIE. Would the study be conducted by the private consultants, by your staff? Mr. DUCHARME. No, sir; by our staff in cooperation with the staff from the city of Chicago. General DAVIS. Our plan is to handle this as we have handled the water study and other studies where we have had an advisory committee work with our staff and it is reviewed by the commission as a whole, as a policy matter. Senator MUSKIE. The study would be regional in nature? General DAVIS. Yes, sir. Senator MUSKIE. Now, when it is completed, what can be done under the existing authority to implement its results? General DAVIS. We have no police authority, but we work very closely with the State legislature, and we would recommend such legislation as might be proper in the situation, to remedy the situation. Senator MUSKIE. I would like to ask you a question about another portion of your testimony, General Davis: You endorse a policy of keeping the air as clean as practicable. You use the word "practicable," instead of "possible," so that you do have in mind the economics of the situation? General DAVIS. Yes, we have the economics in mind, and of course everyone would like absolutely pure air just like everyone would like absolutely pure water, but I am afraid that is impossible so we use the word "practicable. Senator MUSKIE. Your approach is to press for technological solutions which are economically feasible? General DAVIS. That is right. Senator MUSKIE. Later in your statement, you describe the legislation which was enacted by the Illinois General Assembly in 1961, which grants powers to counties and municipalities to regulate, for the purposes of lessening or preventing discharge of air contaminants. Now, this is permissive? General DAVIS. That is permissive, and it is the first time it has appeared in our legislation. That legislation was drawn by our commission, and presented to the State legislature where it was approved, but as you see, it is limited to the counties. It doesn't cover the intercounty or the cooperative effort we are trying to cover at this time. Senator MUSKIE. How many counties and municipalities have acted on the legislation? General DAVIS. I think three, as I recall. Senator MUSKIE. Which ones? General DAVIS. Du Page, Will, and I think, Kane, hasn't it? General DAVIS. Not Kane? Mr. DUCHARME. Cook. General DAVIS. Cook. Senator MUSKIE. Have they acted to institute action programs, or are they in the study and research phase? General DAVIS. No; they have regulative legislation. Senator MUSKIE. You suggest the possibility of incentives to control air pollution at the source. Do you have any particular kind of incentives in mind? General DAVIS. Some have been suggested, but we haven't decided to announce them yet. Senator MUSKIE. There is a proposal pending before the Senate of the United States now for tax incentives. Would you support that kind of proposal? General DAVIS. I think we might. That has been suggested. We are not at the point, as I say, to issue any statements yet. Senator MUSKIE. Thank you very much, General Davis. Do you have any questions, Senator Bayh? Senator BAYH. Just one, Mr. Chairman. General, I am intrigued by the possibility presented in your testimony. By the planning and land use, you say ways might be found to purify the air and you infer specifically, or refer specifically to the possibility of interspersing between industrial complexes green buffer areas. Is there any scientific data, or have there been any studies made on that? General DAVIS. Our office has been doing quite a bit of investigative work on that, and we would be glad to have you come over. We did make an "open space study," and one of the things we recommended in that was that there be such buffers. We laid out pretty well the proposed recreational areas for the northeastern Illinois area. Senator BAYH. Do you have a specific area in mind where you monitored the air and you know the effects? General DAVIS. Not exactly like that. Senator BAYH. If you do, I am sure the committee would like to have this, because this might be a new way, and it would be very desirable. General DAVIS. Well, I can give you a copy of our open space study, and I think the-and I think that may be helpful to your staff, and anything that they want in addition we will be glad to furnish them. We maintain a staff of between 25 and 50 employees in our offices, and we have experts on this that are working on the thing constantly, and we will be glad to cooperate fully with you on anything you want. Our office is over in the Edison Co. building on Clark and Adams Street. Senator BAYH. Yes. The reason I point this out is that it is contrary to planning going on in some metropolitan areas, where they are attempting to concentrate their own industry in an exclusive area, and it might be better to intersperse it with green buffer areas. This committee would like to know whether or not it will work out with this interspersing. General DAVIS. Whatever you can do to secure the full cooperation of the State of Indiana, particularly the northeastern region, with our commission, we would appreciate. Our relations, under the old regional planning association, were excellent, but since we are a political body now, the same thing has not as yet been fully accomplished in Indiana. Governor Welsh has indicated Senator BAYH. I think that in testimony to come up later it will be pointed out that there are going to be efforts made between Illinois and Indiana to solve this on a regional basis. General DAVIS. Yes, sir. Senator BAYH. That certainly must be solved. General DAVIS. Not only this, but on many other things. Senator BAYH. We have done a pretty good job with respect to certain resources upon which we have conducted studies, and I think we can do the same thing with respect to air pollution. General DAVIS. We cooperated on the Port Study and things of that kind, but I don't know as far as our commission is concerned, we have stayed pretty well out of it because officially we are limited to the territorial limits of the State of Illinois. Senator BAYH. Thank you. Senator MUSKIE. Thank you again, General. General DAVIS. Thank you, Senator, and it is nice to have been with you. I certainly do thank you, and as I say, it was awfully nice to be here. Senator MUSKIE. We have enjoyed your being here. I would like to state that we have received 30 telegrams from residents of Deerfield-Riverwoods area, which will be placed in the committee's files. We have also received a telegram from Orval J. Kincaid, United Steelworkers of America, and that will be placed in the record at this point. (The telegram referred to is as follows:) Senator EDMUND MUSKIE, GARY, IND., January 30, 1964. Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Unable to appear before your committee on air pollution and problems involving our industries, organized labor, and our citizenry of Gary. There is no progress being made here in solving the air pollution problem. The air pollution brought about by heavy industries in the north and central portions of our city pollutes air for the entire area. All we are receiving is hot air from some of our alleged politicians. We wish you and your committee all the success in |