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Show Geneva Steel Plant to com- j ply with costly clean up re- I quirements. Fortunately, a i solution was worked out - i but not until tremendous public pub-lic pressure was brought to bear against the agency. Utah and other western states are being particularly particular-ly hard hit by an EPA regu-lation regu-lation requiring prevention of significant deterioration of air quality in Class I air quality areas, such as national parks and wilderness wilder-ness areas. The agency has promulgated rules requiring re-quiring protection of integral inte-gral vistas, areas which are ! visible from within the Class I area. In a state like Utah with our wide open spaces, this protection would amount to expanding the Class I area literally as far as the eye can see. This could have a devastating economic Impact on large portions of the state, blocking development develop-ment of many of our energy and mineral resources that ' are located within close j proximity to the Class I j In letters to President Re- i agan and Senator Robert T. j Stafford, Garn and 25 other senators voiced strong i agreement with the Presl- dent on the need for a comprehensive review of the federal regulatory structure now crippling many sectors in the national economy. Garn said the agency largely large-ly ignored the concerns of state and localofficials while attempting to force Orem's i lorn fcmim of fort to mwm sIqqi m oeH of the way Congress and the federal government should not operate. The original intent was to allow states to run the air pollution control con-trol programs, but Congress Cong-ress has delegated virtually unlimited powers to the EPA allowing it to run roughshod over state and local authorities. authori-ties. The Act should be amended amend-ed and modified to return the resoonsibility for implementing im-plementing Clean Air objectives obj-ectives to the states and to establish a cooperative consulting role for EPA, not a dictatorial one. The senator recalled an unsuccessful attempt by former for-mer Senator FrankMoss and himself In 1975 to amend the Act to permit a five percent per-cent variance in air quality standards to recognize Utah's unique " terrain and atmosphere. Now, however, there Is a . growing awareness in Cong-i Cong-i ress that such extremeism is inappropriate and that there is a need for changes in order to bolster our national na-tional economy and Increase energy production. As an example of the EPA's dictatorial approach, Citing the devastating lm -pact of Clean Air Act provisions pro-visions on Utah's economy, Senator Jake Garn has launched laun-ched a major drive for an expeditious revision of the Act during this session of Congress. He announced that a bipartisan bi-partisan group of 25 senators sena-tors had cosigned letters he wrote to President Reagan Rea-gan and a key Senate com -mittee chairman arguing the state of the economy re -quires Immediate attention to the revision of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act and the way it has been enforced enforc-ed are a perfect example |
