Reps. Farhat, Nofs, Hoogendyk, Tabor, Newell, Kooiman, Ehardt, Pappageorge, Sheen, Emmons, Pastor, Shaffer and Stahl offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 276.

            A resolution to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider and reverse its designation of rural areas of Michigan, including Cass County and Muskegon County, as ozone nonattainment areas and to take actions that more realistically assess and deal with air quality in Michigan.

            Whereas, The Environmental Protection Agency has recently announced its designations of which counties in the country are ozone nonattainment areas under the federal Clean Air Act.  The list of counties that now may be subject to significant restrictions, which may include vehicle inspection requirements and measures that could seriously impede economic development, include several in Michigan that are clearly victims of the transport of pollution from outside this state; and

            Whereas, Michigan's location, downwind of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Gary, effectively penalizes the Great Lakes State in all efforts to assess the origins of air pollution.  The transport of pollution across Lake Michigan significantly impacts Michigan, especially the rural counties that have been designated as ozone nonattainment areas.  In rural nonattainment areas, there are far lower population levels and traffic volumes and fewer industrial activities.  Observers have noted that, if all factories and emissions ceased in some of these rural Michigan counties, the air would likely not be improved enough to come into compliance; and

            Whereas, The potential restrictions that may now be imposed on nonattainment areas would be an unfair burden to the citizens of these communities.  The costs they would bear would clearly not be justified by any commensurate increase in air quality; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider and reverse its designation of rural areas of Michigan, including Cass County and Muskegon County, as ozone nonattainment areas and to take actions that more realistically assess and deal with air quality in Michigan; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Environmental Protection Agency.