The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy and Transportation Committees held a joint hearing this week on a proposal by the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt California’s vehicle emission limits in Pennsylvania.

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty and Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler both defended the Administration’s proposal saying the added emission reductions achieved by the tighter standards are relied on by the state now to meet federal Clean Air Act smog standards. They said if fewer emission reductions come from vehicles, they would have to come from somewhere else like factories, power plants or other sources.

Both said the California standards were originally adopted by DEP in 1998 and the Rendell Administration is just making adjustments to a program that is already in place.

Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, and Sen. Roger Madigan (R-Bradford), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the record on the 1998 action was clear—the California standards were only adopted as a backup plan and Pennsylvania does not rely on its added emission reductions in its current air quality State Implementation Plan to meet federal smog standards.

White and Madigan quoted from the 1998 documents (PA Bulletin notice and EQB rulemaking package) that accompanied the rulemaking which said, adopting the California standards “is a contingency” and part of a plan to encourage automakers to meet the federal Tier II vehicle standards. But it was the Tier II vehicle standards for which Pennsylvania took reduction credit.

They also quoted from a recent EPA letter which said the same thing—the California standards were originally adopted as a legal backstop and those emission reductions are not now relied upon by Pennsylvania in its State Implementation Plan, according to EPA Region III Administrator Donald Welsh.

Welsh did point out that Pennsylvania only participated in the Tier II vehicle standards through the 2006 model year and that the California standards were now legally enforceable in Pennsylvania.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers supported Senate Bill 1025 that would continue the federal Tier II vehicle emission standards in Pennsylvania. They pointed out Tier II standards reduce smog-forming emissions by 99 percent compared to pre-control levels.

The Alliance also raised a concern about direct adoption of the California standards because they have become a moving target changing 49 times since 1990. The most recent changes, to incorporate reductions in greenhouse gases, and other equipment needed to meet the California limits, would push the price of new vehicles up an average of $3,000.

The Pennsylvania AAA Federation also presented comments to the Committees saying the argument over the Clean Vehicle Program is not a debate between a clean car and a dirty car because both standards produce “exceptionally clean cars.”

AAA pointed to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comparison of the vehicle standards which said the extra benefit of the California car program was a one percent reduction in volatile organic compounds and two percent reduction in air toxics by the year 2020.

They expressed a concern that the California car standards would increase vehicle costs between $1,000 to $3,000 per vehicle, further restricting consumer choice for little added environmental benefit, while leaving older, more polluting vehicles on the road.

PennEnvironment presented testimony on the need to reduce air pollution from all sources because of its potential health consequences and that giving consumers the choice of a cleaner vehicle was critical to this effort.

The group also pointed out that eight states, including New York and New Jersey, have already adopted the California car standards.

DEP proposed the California car regulation at the October 18 Environmental Quality Board meeting, but have not yet published the rule for formal public review.

The House this week referred House Bill 2141 (Geist-R-Blair), which would prohibit the Environmental Quality Board from adopting California vehicle emission standards, to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for further review.

NewsClips: Emissions rules Fuel a PA Debate

12/16/2005