FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 31, 1997
Contact: Michael Tebo (202) 328-5019
TIGHTER NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR AIR QUALITY TO BE ADDRESSED AT RFF SYMPOSIUM
WASHINGTON, DC -- Government officials and experts from the business, environmental and research communities will gather at Resources for the Future (RFF) to discuss and debate the scientific basis, political and economic realities, and policy implications of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposals to revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA seeks to tighten the standards for ground-level ozone and set first-time limits for fine particles. Both contribute to the air pollution that trouble a number of American cities, and both have been linked to an array of adverse health effects.
The meeting, "Air Pollution Policy: A Symposium on the Proposed Standards for Ozone and Particulates," will be held on Monday, February 10, 1997, from 8:30 am-4:30 pm in RFF's Kimball Conference Center, 1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC. It comes one week before the end of a 60-day period for public comment on the proposed revisions.
"EPA's impending decisions could have a significant impact on both public health and resources devoted to reducing emissions," says RFF's Alan Krupnick, who co-chairs a federal advisory subcommittee that is providing counsel to the EPA on its plans for implementing regulations to meet the new standards. "On the one hand, more stringent standards, especially for fine particles, will reduce the risks of adverse health effects, and visibility impairment. On the other hand, if the standards are tightened, many new areas of the country will find themselves violating these standards, while areas currently in violation will find their clean air goals receding even further. The result could be far higher costs and significant changes in lifestyle."
The symposium will feature four panel discussions that address the appropriate form and stringency of ozone and particulate standards; the costs and benefits of the proposed standards; various strategies for implementation; and the role for Congress.
In addition to RFF's Krupnick, participants will include: Morton Lippmann, a noted health effects expert from New York University's Norton Institute of Medicine, and former head of EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC); Mary Nichols, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation; Roger McClellan, chairman of CASAC and president of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology; Robert Brenner, director of EPA's Office of Policy Analysis and Review; Steven Ziman, staff scientist for Chevron Corporation; Richard Klimisch, vice president of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association; John Seitz, director of EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards; Donald Thieler, director of Wisconsin's Bureau of Air Management; Robert Wyman, Latham & Watkins; David Hawkins, senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council; Jimmie Powell, staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; and, C. Boyden Gray, head of
"For this important public policy issue, as for others, RFF provides a neutral forum for discussion and conducts economic analyses that inform and enlighten all parties to the debate," says RFF President Paul R. Portney.
Attendance is limited -- media representatives are encouraged to contact Michael Tebo in RFF's public affairs office at (202) 328-5019; all others should call (202) 328-5000. A transcript of the symposium will be posted to RFF's web site -- http://www.rff.org.
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Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit organization that aims to provide accurate, objective information to policy makers, legislators, public opinion leaders, environmentalists, and the public to help them responsibly meet the nation's and the world's long-term environmental and economic needs. For the past 45 years, researchers at RFF have analyzed issues involving forests, water, energy, minerals, transportation, sustainable development, and air pollution. They also have examined, from a variety of perspectives, such topics as government regulation, risk, ecosystems and biodiversity, climate, hazardous waste management, technology, and outer space. RFF neither lobbies nor takes positions on specific legislative or regulatory proposals.
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