28th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers

WHEREAS, the U.S. EPA has recently made significant changes to the rules governing New Source Review (“NSR”) under the Clean Air Act; and

WHEREAS, these changes abandon the fundamental principle that new sources of air pollution must be required to minimize their emissions using the best control technologies available, and that existing sources that undergo significant expansion or upgrade should be held to same standards; i.e. the new rules allow operators to make significant investments in expansions and facility upgrades without having to install new pollution control equipment; and

WHEREAS, the NSR rules constitute a critical strategy to reduce, not only emissions of pollutants, but also the transport of pollutants over long distances; and

WHEREAS, the New England States and Eastern Canadian Provinces are experiencing significant detrimental effects on public health, the environment and their economies from the transport of pollutants to their region, to the point that their attainment of national, health-based, air quality standards is in jeopardy and their industries face disproportionate costs associated with additional pollution controls that they will be required to install if upwind emissions are not addressed aggressively; and

WHEREAS, the New England States and Eastern Canadian Provinces understand that reform of the NSR program is warranted and is designed to alleviate the financial demands of unnecessary transaction costs, but believe that such reform should not come at the expense of environmental quality or economic equity in their region;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers finds that the new NSR rules adopted by the U.S. EPA do not provide adequate protection for the public health of the citizens of the New England States and Eastern Canadian Provinces, and impose unfair economic conditions on their businesses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers call on the governments to establish air pollution control strategies which require all sources to utilize or upgrade to the appropriate pollution control technologies;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers call upon the U.S. EPA to reconsider its revisions and recommit to protecting the public health of all citizens, and uphold the spirit and the letter of the Clean Air Agreement between Canada and the United States in 1990.

Adopted at the 28^th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, September 7-9, 2003.

John G. Rowland
Governor of Connecticut
Co-chair

Bernard Lord
Premier of New Brunswick
Co-chair