We have routinely provided advisory technical service to local communities, ranging from mere consultation to detailed investigations of problems including the establishment of short-term sampling networks. Requests for these services are increasing each year. It is our responsibility to prepare a plan for the control of existing and potential air pollution, recognizing varying requirements for different areas of the State. To control new sources of air pollution, rules to prevent new air pollution, adopted by the board in 1961, became effective on April 1, 1962. Under the terms of these rules, with some specific exemptions, plans or reports for all new or modified installations which can reasonably be expected to contribute to air pollution—and all air cleaning device installations must be submitted to the board for approval. Our rules to prevent new air pollution are only part of this. To control existing pollution we are conducting comprehensive area studies on a county-by-county basis. Five of these studies have been completed. Another five are in progress and three are to be initiated shortly. Most of these studies are being conducted in cooperation with county and city agencies. The studies will provide the basis for control plans. Our staff, with the assistance of a council of technical advisers, has been working on an ambient air quality objectives classifications system which, in accordance with our law, will recognize varying requirements for different areas of the State. It is planned to have this system ready for adoption by the board sometime this spring. The objectives (or standards, if you wish to call them this) will be assigned to the various areas of the State as our studies are completed. Comprehensive abatement plans can then be drawn up in accordance with the objectives to be achieved. We have adopted, published and applied criteria for the approval of crankcase ventilation systems for internal combustion engines. New York State is not without its interstate problems. However, in this regard it is apparent that the New York metropolitan area far outweighs all others in importance. Our air pollution control board recognized this fact early, and on January 14, 1959, addressed a communication to the chairman of the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Commission, requesting a conference so that this problem might be discussed. As a result of this first conference, the New York-New Jersey Cooperative Committee on Interstate Air Pollution held its organizational meeting on June 10, 1959. The original committee consisted of representatives of the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Commission, the New York State Air Pollution Control Board, the commissioners of the Departments of Health of New York and New Jersey, and the commissioner of air pollution control in New York City. Subsequently the Public Health Service and the Interstate Sanitation Commission were invited to be represented on the group. The objectives of the cooperative committee were simple. The agencies recognized the fact that they are the official agencies charged with control of air pollution in the New York-New Jersey area and set as their objective the solution of the problem of air pollution which are interstate in character. To achieve this objective, the committee proposed to: (1) exchange information on complaints pertaining to source of alleged interstate pollution; (2) exchange technical information of investigations made by the member agencies; (3) exchange information or research studies; (4) organize and conduct joint studies of the problem falling within the scope of the committee. When the Interstate Sanitation Commission was authorized by acts of the Legislatures of New York and New Jersey to engage in certain activities relating to air pollution in the metropolitan area, members of the cooperative committee were appointed to serve in an advisory capacity to the commission. However, the New York-New Jersey Cooperative Committee on Interstate Air Pollution Control continues to meet at frequent intervals.. We have asked for and received assistance from the Public Health Service under the terms of the 1955 Clean Air Act. In the initial phases of our program, a highly competent individual was loaned to us on a full-time basis to assist in establishing our program. He not only rendered extremely valuable technical and administrative assistance, but also was in responsible charge of the first comprehensive area survey which was conducted in this State and which has served as the model for the subsequent studies. Later on the Public Health Service assigned a trainee to our department of health for 1 year, who rendered valuable services during his training period. We have frequently called on the Public Health Service for consultation and in all cases the necessary technical assistance has been made available. זי Almost all of our staff members have received some training at the Sanitary Engineering Center in Cincinnati, and in this field, the service rendered by the Public Health Service has been outstanding. In addition, two of our staff members have received full-time support for postgraduate training. The 1963 Federal Clean Air Act will strengthen, without question, the program, heretofore carried out by the Public Health Service, of carrying out research and providing training and technical assistance. Continued research on the causes, effects and control of air pollution is essential. The training activities, too, are vitally needed, since there is a critical shortage of trained personnel in the air pollution control field. Those agencies which will develop new programs or strengthen existing programs in the future will require considerable technical assistance. Air pollution is found in most of our municipalities. Its nature and extent, its causes and effects, however, vary from community to community. In the past, municipalities, primarily because of the lack of funds, have had to concentrate their control efforts on sources which offend the sense or for which an effect could be readily demonstrated. This has often resulted in abatement emphasis being placed on sources which have little significance. This type of approach has certainly not fostered the cooperation of polluters in reducing the discharges of contaminants, since they are not aware fully of what is to be achieved through the control efforts. Control implies knowledge-knowledge of cause and effect, of the extent and nature of the specific problem. To acquire this knowledge, comprehensive studies are needed. It is noted that section 3 of the Clean Air Act provides the mechanism by which this knowledge can be obtained. It is noted, also, that section 3 does not require States and municipalities to provide part of the funds to acquire this knowledge which is so vitally important for the establishment of a comprehensive control program. The executive secretary of our air pollution control board is presently chairman of the New York-New Jersey Cooperative Committee on Interstate Air Pollution. He has been requested by the committee to present to your Special Committee on Air and Water Pollution a proposal for a comprehensive air pollution survey of the New YorkNew Jersey metropolitan area. A copy of this proposal is being submitted as illustrative of the type of studies which are needed. A study of this type will define the problem so that a comprehensive control program can be designed. The New York-New Jersey cooperative committee is presently exploring means by which a project of this type can be funded. Finally, it is noted that section 4 provides for financial support for defraying the cost of developing, establishing or improving programs for the prevention and control of air pollution. Many States and municipalities have recognized that they have air pollution problems and already have provided funds for control programs up to the limit of their financial resources. The expenditures presently being made by the States and municipalities should not go unnoted. These existing programs, almost without exception, can and should be expanded and improved. If these past efforts are not recognized in the administration of section 4, the Federal Government will be in the position of penalizing those agencies which have faced up to their problems, while others will be rewarded for having done little or nothing. That completes the statement, Mr. Chairman. I ask that the proposal to which I referred be placed in the record. Senator MUSKIE. It is so ordered. (The exhibit is as follows:) A TENTATIVE PROPOSAL FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AIR POLLUTION SURVEY OF THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY METROPOLITAN AREA BY NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY COOPERATIVE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AIR POLLUTION I. Need for the study GENERAL OUTLINE While it is generally agreed that air quality in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area is unstaisfactory much of the time, and virtually intolerable on some days, there is no really adequate definition of the severity and impact of the situation. There are major deficiencies in available information concerning concentration and composition of pollutants; effects of pollutants on human health, visibility and vegetation; corrosion of metals; soiling and deterioration of materials caused by air pollution; the influence of air pollution on neighborhood decay and decline of property values, and other adverse effects. Such data as are available indicate that concentrations of some pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, are rising; and that a few, notably dustfall, have been declining, although the rate of decline has slowed considerably in recent years. A few studies done in the area on effects of air pollution on health, considered along with other studies done throughout the world, have indicated that air pollution is a matter of grave public health concern. If the true importance of the air pollution problem is to be evaluated and given its proper attention with respect to other problems facing the area, further information concerning air quality and the adverse effects of pollutants must be developed. Although some work has been done in this record, it is woefully inadequate. Furthermore, results of some of the work have not been fully evaluated and utilized. From the accepted need for improved air quality, there follows the need for an air pollution control program. In the past, such programs have been concerned with smoke abatement and were based largely on the relatively simple concepts that excessive smoke was undesirable, reasonably preventable, and uneconomical from the standpoint of the fuel user and others. The degree of smoke control required by governmental regulations was based on performance which could be readily attained with equipment, fuels, and practices available more than 30 years ago. Similar, though somewhat different, approaches were taken to the problems of fly ash emissions and point-source nuisances. There has been little systematic, scientific consideration given to establishing parameters for how clean the air should be and how much of the various pollutants could be emitted from all air pollution sources within any political jurisdiction to maintain adequate air quality. Virtually no long-range planning has been done for the integration of air resource management into the overall Greater New York-New Jersey metropolitan area planning processes. Design of a program to control emission of pollutants into the atmosphere should begin with the establishment of standards for the air quality to be achieved. While it is true that knowledge upon which to base such air quality standards is far from perfect, it is possible to establish firm reasonable standards for a few pollutants and at least tentative or working standards for others. This should be done in the study area. To design a pollutant emission control program, it is necessary to know the location and magnitude of sources of various pollutants, what is presently being done to minimize emissions, what more could be done to reduce emissions, and what the ramifications would be of such further reductions. With this information, and a knowledge of the degree of reduction in emissions required, it is possible to design the most advantageous program. It may be found that suitable means for control of some air pollutants are not available-indicating a need to find another way to conduct the operation involved, to find a new way to control the pollutants, or to relocate the pollution sources involved. Similarly, when evaluating the total air pollution problem, it may be determined that even if all currently available, anticipated, and feasible emission controls were applied, the estimated ambient air pollution levels would still be excessive. It might become necessary to implement other concepts to attain the desired air quality. In addition to this, effort might need to be directed toward searching for new and untried ways further to reduce pollutant emissions into the atmosphere. Control programs should provide for additional pollutant emission reductions during periods of unusually adverse atmospheric dispersion. This would entail a need for establishment of supplementary air quality standards which would be used as a basis for instituting the additional reduction program. Changing technology and practices are occurring in all of man's activities. These changes must be considered and utilized to the highest advantage in the design of long-range (10 to 20 years) pollutant emission control programs. Projections of community air quality, based on calculations of anticipated pollutant emissions and the dispersive capacity of the atmosphere, need to be made. Additional effort is needed to correlate land use planning, zoning, building construction, and application of air pollution control technology to assure satisfactory air quality for the future. In the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, as in most areas, much additional information is needed regarding many of the facets of the air resource management activities outlined above. The need is urgent. This area contains the greatest concentration of people in the country and it is growing rapidly. Air resource study, planning, and action programs must be accelerated if this area is to be a clean, healthful, and enjoyable place to live and work. Failure to provide for a clean air supply can severely detract from the benefits achieved by the billions of dollars being spent on housing, streets, expressways, transit systems, buildings, etc. II. Area included in the survey Pending further study, the area to be included in the survey is as follows: (a) New York: The five boroughs of New York City and Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland Counties. Activities in Suffolk, Rockland, and in Westchester Counties will be of limited scope. (b) New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, and Union Counties. Activities will be of limited scope in the westerly half of Passaic County, the southwestern half of Middlesex County and the southern three-fourths of Monmouth County. III. Objective Develop information for establishing a unified air resource management program for the entire Greater New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. This will involve the following activities: 1. Determine the nature, magnitude, and location of existing pollution sources and the degree of control of emissions presently employed. 2. Define existing air quality in detail. 3. Determine the effects of air pollution in the communities. 4. Determine the capacity of the atmosphere to disperse air pollutants. These activities will involve many agencies other than those participating in this survey and will call for considerable cooperative action in studying and eventually resolving the problem. IV. Cost of project Based on the foregoing plan, preliminary tentative funding estimates are as follows: In order to avoid disruption of existing control programs, most of the work will be done by staff hired especially for this survey. Other work may be done by contract. The survey will complement and supplement present efforts, however maximum possible use will be made of existing and available governmental and other agency staff members, equipment and facilities, so that additional resources, beyond those obtained with the above amounts, will be applied to the survey. VI. Participating agencies New Jersey State Department of Health, air sanitation program. New York State Air Pollution Control Board. New York City Department of Air Pollution Control. Interstate Sanitation Commission (New York and New Jersey). APPENDIX OUTLINE OF PROGRAM DETAILS I. Basic information to be obtained A. Review and compare existing air pollution control laws and programs within the described survey area. B. Determine pollution sources: 1. Use existing records and questionnaires to inventory existing sources: (a) Commercial. (b) Domestic. (c) Industrial. (d) Municipal. (e) Vehicular. 2. Use engineering estimation and questionnaire methods insofar as possible to determine quantities of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere. Particular attention will be given to the following: (a) Hydrocarbons, as specific as possible. (b) Odorous materials. (c) Oxides of nitrogen. (d) Particulates. (e) Sulfur oxides. 3. Conduct on-site engineering evaluations of major and complex sources. 4. Make measurements of pollutant emissions for major classes of pollutant sources for which satisfactory emission estimating factors are not available. 5. Collect needed information and prepare estimates of probable emissions of major pollutants for future years. 6. Relate pollutant quantities to the geography of the area. This can be done using maps of appropriate scale and a suitable grid coordinate system. C. Define existing air quality : 1. Collect, tabulate, and evaluate all reasonably usable existing air quality data. |