Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my bipartisan amendment to prohibit implementation of the EPA rule that inappropriately reclassified three west Michigan counties, Berrien County, parts of Allegan County, and parts of Muskegon County, from ``marginal'' to ``moderate'' under the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. However, it is a long-established fact that transport pollution from upwind States is a primary driver of the reduced air quality in west Michigan. In fact, Mr. Chairman, I was a young staffer in 1997 when I became the district director for my predecessor when I was first introduced to this concept. We will get into some of those same issues that we are seeing today. Even the State of Michigan officially acknowledges this fact: Ozone transport is the major driver of why these counties in Michigan get penalized by the EPA's standards. While the EPA's rule explicitly does not consider ozone transport, science will tell you that ozone pollutants are being carried to us on winds across Lake Michigan from cities like Gary, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new ``moderate'' classification carries with it the so-called reasonably available control technology requirements as well as other burdensome regulatory requirements, offset ratios, and emissions reductions meant to bring the Michigan counties back into attainment of the air standards, not the counties that are actually doing the polluting.…”