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STATEMENT FROM JOHN P. DeVILLARS REGARDING NEW EPA RULES FOR REDUCING OZONE

Release Date: 09/24/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office (617) 918-4154 Lucy Edmondson (617)918-1004

BOSTON-- "New England is the biggest winner from this effort. Administrator Browner's announcement of tough new emission reductions for states upwind of New England is cause for great celebration. Throughout the 1990s, EPA and the New England states have worked hard to reduce emissions of smog-causing pollutants -- through cleaner fuels, lower emitting cars, and tighter standards for power plants and factories. These emission reductions have, without question, improved our air quality. But even with all our efforts, there were still 27 days this last summer that we experienced unhealthy air in New England."

"Because computer modeling shows that New England's ozone levels are the result of both local and upwind emissions, local reductions alone will never be enough to solve our smog problem. EPA's rulemaking today will require that states contributing to New England's smog remove approximately 1.2 million tons of ozone-causing nitrogen oxides from the air. We need to stay the course on our own efforts, but at last we'll be getting some help from our upwind neighbors. These reductions, combined with the important efforts underway here in New England, should ensure that our children, our elderly parents and grandparents, and all those with respiratory problems, have clean and healthy air to breathe."