Environmental concerns in the state house Governors detail their views on energy and the environment
By Julian Josephson The governors of each of the 50 states face environmental challenges on three levels-state, regional, and national. On a state level, for instance, Gov. George Deukmejian (R-CA) has to deal with the chronic problems of air pollution in California’s South Coast Basin and water contamination in parts of the Great Valley. On March 24, Gov. Steve Cowper (D-AK) suddenly learned that he had to deal with a spill of nearly 42,000 m3 (more than 11 million gallons) of CNde oil from the tanker Erron Valdez in Alaska’s Prince William Sound-the largest oil spill in U S . history. Gov. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) reputedly must handle the toughest package of hazardous waste problems of all of the 50 states. On a regional level, the governors of New Jersey, New York, and the New England states are beset by effects of acid deposition. Governors of northern states from New York to Minnesota are concerned with protecting the quality of the Great Lakes. Governors of western states are especially concerned with the availability, integrity, and distribution of water resources. On the national level, every governor ultimately is responsible for ensuring that his or her state complies with federal laws and regulations. Dealing with these challenges is a task of the National Governors’ Association (NGA,
Washington, DC) Committee on Energy and the Environment, to which 23 of the nation’s 50 governors belong.
Air and water issues The governors and EPA share one near-term goal: reauthorization of the Clean Air Act as soon as is practicable. New Jersey Gov. Kean says that Congress needs to give nonattainment areas more time to comply with applicable standards for tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide. He tells E M I : however, that there should be “an expanded federal role in controlling emissions that cause ozone nonattainment and acid rain. Another important federal role would involve standards for paints and other solvent-containing consumer products that contribute to ozone problems.” As of Dec. 31, 1988, according to EPA estimates, 96 metropolitan and Nral areas were out of compliance for ozone, compared with 66 areas as of Dec. 31, 1987. Kean has predicted that the list will expand by at least 28 more areas. He warns that if Congress fails to extend the deadlime, the results could include a welter of lawsuits and construction moratoria. Kean also calls for a nationwide reduction in S q emissions by 10 million tondyear to reduce acid rain, “to be brought about in a manner that would minimize losses of jobs.” He suggests additional tests on automobile emis-
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sions that would include a new test for cold-weather emission control performance. Kean also hopes for requirements for the development of on-board controls for gasoline refueling vapors and more stringent regulations on truck emissions. (An EPA spokesman told ES&Tthat his agency is examining o p tions for requiring cold-weather emissions tests.) Kean says that the governors on NGA’s Energy and Environment Committee support the Bush administm tion’s goal of no net loss of wetlands. As chairman of the National Wetlands Policy Forum, Kean played a large role in establishing the no-net-loss goal. He notes that wetlands are disappearing at a rate of 121,400-202,350 ha/year (300,000-500,000 acredyear; some estimates run as high as 404,700 ha [l million acres] per year). He emphasizes that “no net loss” does not mean a total ban on the conversion of wetlands-“some projects are very important.” Kean adds that states should play the greater role in wetlands protection, with federal support. Wetlands are habitats and breeding grounds for many aquatic organisms, including some of those that make up the food chain. They also can play a significant role in wastewater treatment and ilood control. Although Gov. Jim Martin (R-NC) supports the national goal of no net loss of wetlands, he expresses several reservations. “We shouldn’t wed ourselves Environ. Sci. Technol.. MI. 23. NO. 8. 1989 933
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to a concept until it’s clarified. For instance, what is a wetland? What, exactly, is meant by ‘no net loss?‘” he asked. Martin observed that “in North Carolina, we have more than 2 million acres [485,600 ha] of wetlands. What, specifically, are we to protect?” Martin also shares the desire of his colleagues from the northeastern states to control acid deposition. He notes that his own state is affected by acid deposition and cites as an example acid clouds that are damaging forests on top of Mt. Mitchell-the highest mountain in North Carolina and in the eastern United States (2038 m). “Those clouds sometimes are as acid as lemon juice,’’ he says. Martin, however, is concerned with the costs of acid deposition control. He has called on Congress to devise a way by which the states may share these costs “in a fair and equitable manner,” although he proposed no specific approaches to cost sharing. Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) summarizes the consensus of the committee when he calls for new multistate initiatives and recommendations to protect groundwater, combat nonpoint-source pollution, and improve water quality in general. He says that he and Gov. Tommy Thompson (R-WI) are coordinating this interstate effort. Branstad, incidentally, is to succeed Gov. Gerald L. Baliles (D-VA) as chairman of NGA. Gov. Branstad’s special interest in protecting water resources has been heightened because his state is one of those hit the hardest by the drought of the summer of 1988. His views are echoed by Gov. Henry Bellmon (ROK) who says, “We are very interested in protecting our water because it is something many of the landlocked states have less of.” The governors’ concern may stem from an awareness that the less surface water and groundwater there is, the more contaminated the remaining supplies may be or become. Govs. Bellmon and William Donald 934
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Schaefer (D-MD) have sponsored a resolution calling on Congress to restore to the municipal wastewater construction grants program the $2.4 billion a year that was to be disbursed by EPA through 1991 under the Clean Water Act of 1987. Their sentiments are shared by many associations, including the National Utility Contractors Association. Gov. Mike Hayden (R-KS) amended the resolution to suggest that if this level of funding is infeasible because of the federal deficit, Congress should extend the current reduced level of funding for two or three years beyond 1991, until the funds authorized in the law have been disbursed, so that municipalities can comply with requirements for sewage treatment under the Clean Water Act. Hazardous waste The nation’s governors generally agree that the most rational approach to managing hazardous wastes is to minimize their generation at the source, especially because of current and future restrictions on disposal to land. An NGA report, “The Role of Waste Minimization,” states that in 1981 only two states conducted waste minimization programs. By 1988, that number had increased to 36, according to the report. The most popular approach to waste minimization in the states involves technical assistance to generators by state government agencies; 29 states use it. The cost of technical assistance programs in each state averages $150,000 a year, according to the NGA report. Other approaches include waste exchanges, education, and tax and financial incentives. The report also makes recommendations to help states account for their waste minimization and recycling programs in “capacity assurance submissions” that they must file with EPA by October 1989, under Superfund. A capacity assurance submission is an assurance to EPA that a state will have the capacity to manage hazardous wastes within its borders, in compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations, for the next 20 years. (The report can be obtained for $15 from NGA Publications, 444 N. Capitol St., Suite 250, Washington, DC 20001-1372.) Energy policy Gov. Madeleine Kunin (D-VT), who chairs the NGA Energy and Environment Committee, decries the seeming lack of a coherent national energy policy. “I am particularly disturbed about a recent decline in energy efficiency in this country after many years of improvement,” she told the committee. Gov. Cowper of Alaska adds, “We
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need a policy before we get hit by another crisis. We are now more than 40% dependent on foreign oil and these oil imports account for 35% of our trade deficit.” He advocates “reduced use of oil over time, an early resolution of nuclear power issues, and the accelerated development of clean coal.” Gov. Robert Casey (D-PA) says that future energy policy should emphasize the development of renewable sources of energy. Cowper calls for federal incentives for the use of alternative motor fuels. They and other members of the committee have not yet specified what types of renewable resources or alternative fuels should be the subjects of accelerated development. Possible alternative fuels, however, include natural gas, methanol, and gasoline-ethanol blends. Education and exports ES&T asked several governors what role environmental professionals may play in the improvement of education of the public that the governors advocate. Gov. Baliles told ES&T, “The education of environmental professionals should be stepped up. It would provide a continuing supply of engineers and scientists who would reinforce and add to the 20 years of experience in the field of environmental cleanup and improvement that US. industry has over most, if not all, other countries. “One day, the know-how gained from this experience can be sold to developing countries that are industrializing,” Gov. Baliles added. “Their governments will find that, like it or not, they have to protect the environment. They will need help and technical services to carry out that task, and the strong American education and experience in environmental protection and cleanup can prove to be a multi-billiondollar service that could become a major American export.”
Julian Josephson is the associate editor of Es&T.
