Connecticut's Air Among Dirtiest In The Country
As the new home of ConnPIRG's environmental work, Environment Connecticut can be contacted regarding this article.
By GEORGINA GUSTIN
Day Staff Writer, Environmental, Health/Science Reporter
Hartford — For the
second year in a row, lawmakers and advocates of "clean car" technology
are pushing for legislation that would strengthen the state's vehicle emission
standards on new cars and could put more than 300,000 low-emission cars and
trucks on the state's roads within a decade.
Connecticut has some of
the dirtiest air in the country, which environmentalists blame largely on tailpipe
emissions that contribute to smog. Cranking up admissions standards could put
a massive dent in that pollution and dramatically improve public health, proponents
of the legislation say.
"This is the single
most important step Connecticut can take this year to reduce air pollution and
protect public health," said Christopher Phelps, an advocate with the Connecticut
Public Interest Research Group, or ConnPirg. "The Clean Cars Bill is a
common-sense step towards cleaner, healthier air in every community throughout
Connecticut."
Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur Rocque,
lawmakers and advocates spoke at a hearing Monday at the Capitol urging the
General Assembly to pass a bill that would require 10 percent of all new cars
sold in the state to have low-emissions technology. A similar bill was unanimously
passed by the legislature's environment committee last year, but never got to
the floor for a full vote.
Connecticut adheres to the
federal emissions standards adopted in the early 1970s. But in 1990 federal
regulators allowed California to adopt more stringent standards to deal with
its chronic air pollution problems. Since then, federal regulators have allowed
other states to sign on to the California regulations, but say they cannot change
them. Regulators have said they feared a situation where different states had
unique standards, forcing the automotive industry to tailor their cars for each
state's market.
Earlier this year, New Jersey
adopted the California standards, which are in place in Massachusetts, New York
and Vermont as well.
Critics of clean car legislation
say it could cost the state too much money to implement, particularly during
a budget crisis, and that it limits consumer choice by mandating that manufacturers
sell a certain percentage of low-emission cars.
Advocates note, however,
that in Massachusetts it takes only one person to administer the program, and
in New Jersey, a legislative study showed the program would have no fiscal impact
on the state.
"The Clean Cars Bill
is not only good for the health of Connecticut's families, it is a cost-effective
law that doesn't burden taxpayers," said Phelps. "It's a winning proposition
all the way around."
