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Wednesday, august 26, 1981
daily nebraskan
Proposed Clean Air Act changes draw comment
By Jim Garrett
The Office of the Environmental Protection Agency,
in line with President Reagan's promise to ease and bring
about regulatory reform, has released 11 general princi
ples for revision of the 1970 Clean Air Act, an official
said.
Gary- Walsh, assistant chief of the Environmental
Health Division for LincolnLancaster County, told 20
members of the Bluestem Sierra Club Tuesday evening the
principles could be supported by almost anybody.
Walsh also said that the Association of Local Air
Pollution Control Officials, of which he is a member,
would reserve final judgment on the principles until
release of specific details.
Walsh described the 11 principles:
-A national directive to continue to pursue clean air.
-Reasonable statutes and regulations related to their
specific areas.
-The establishment of health air standards based on
sound scientific data rather than economic cost-benefit
analysis.
-Continued setting of secondary air quality standards
at the federal level.
-Continued programs for the protection of national
state and local parks and recreational areas.
-Full partnership of the states and the federal govern
ment in implementing standards.
-A more effective hazardous waste preventative pro
gram for air-born pollutants.
-Acceleration of research on acid deposition' (acid
rain and particulant forms). Walsh noted that ALATCO
would push for immediate implementation of compliance
standards along with the the increase in data collection.
"What good does it do to just continue to study the
problem, one that not only crosses state boundaries, but
international ones as well," he said.
-Deadlines for achieving air quality standards adjusted
to reflect each area involved. .
-Adjustment of "mobile sources, such as vehicles to
a more reasonable level of carbon monoxide and nitrous
oxides.
Walsh said ALAPCO would oppose this relaxation. He
added that the Reagan administration has waived control
standards on some engine classes, changing the rule of 3.4
grams per mile of carbon monoxide to 7.0 grams per mile.
He also said the National Commission on Air Quality
said "rule relaxation of mobile sources would be accept
able if a five-year air quality evaluation was implemented,
along with appropriate correcting measures if air quality
deterioration occurred."
-Pollution control standards for new coal-fired power
plants based on uniform emission standards.
ii .t u t W-iUVi mIH that th iciiAtuttk u:.
principle is between high sulfur coal users in the East and
the low sulfur coal power plants in the West.
Under this revision, new plants using low sulfur coal
would be permitted to operate without stack scrubbers,
which remove pollutants from high sulfur coal but aren't
necessary for low sulfur coal.
Walsh said that if the Clean Air Act is overhauled
rather than just fine-tuned, major areas of the US. could
suffer dramatic drops in air quality.
He said Lincoln and Lancaster County have been for
tunate in that even without the act, pollution control
would have probably occurred, only later.
This, he said, is not true nationally.
A case in point, said Walsh, in U.S. Steel in Gary, Ind.
It was found that because a VS. Steel plant was suffering
financially, it would cost" less to hire legal counsel and tie
up a battle with the federal government in the courts than
it would be to install pollution control equipment.
The benefits of the Clean Air Act far outweigh the cost
to industry, Walsh said. The President's Council on En
vironmental Quality under the Carter administration
showed there was a 24.4 billion benefit to society from
clean air versus a $16.6 billion cost to industry for pur
chasing pollution equipment.
Auditions for ghost play soon
Auditions for The Canterville Ghost
will be held Monday, Aug. 31 and
Sept 1 at 7 pjn. at the Lincoln Community
Playhouse, 2500 S. 56th St. The first Chil
dren's Theatre Production of the season is
an adaptation by Helen,P. Avery of Oscar
Wilde's The Ghost of Cantervill Hall and
will be directed by Lenette Nelson
Schwinn, children's theatre director.
The story centers around Sir Simon de
Canterville a Sixteenth Century ghost that
haunts his family mansion. Around 1900,
the house is sold to an American business
man, Mr. Otis, and his family who refuse to
be scared by strange apparitions. The Otis
children pester Sir Simon with mischievous
pranks. Only Virginia, the older daughter,
attempts to befriend the Ghost.
Call 489-9608 for more information on
auditions or if you are interested in work
ing backstage.
Session tops record
Summer session enrollment at UNL
broke a six-year record and topped last
year's enrollment by 900 students. Total
enrollment for the 1981 session was
15,040, 6.4 percent more than the 14,140
students a year ago, and 3.9 percent more
than the 14,472 students in the 1975
record year.
Students price their books
The ASUN Book Exchange, in the
basement of the Nebraska Union, is a
beneficial service for students buying
and selling books, said ASUN Senator
Russ Oatman.
Because the books at the exchange
are priced by the students selling them,
the prices for used books may be lower
than at bookstores, he said. Students
sell books for a higher price than the
bookstore would pay for them.
Books are marked for identification
and then placed in the exchange. The
books are sorted by subject matter for
easy access.
The money collected from the sale of
the books is returned to the student
minus 5 percent that is kept by ASUN.
Unsold books are also returned.
The book exchange has a large num
ber of books from mos.t subject areas
for classes.
The exchange has been successful
this semester, said Oatman.
The book exchange is open 8 ajn. to
4 p.m. daily.
Unclaimed books and cash payments
for those selling books can be picked up
at the ASUN office Sept. 1 from 10
ajn. to 2 pjn. All books and payments
not claimed by 2 pjn. Oct. 1 become
the property of ASUN.
The College Headquarters. . .
SWEEP LEFT
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Back to the books special
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Now Sweep Left offers you
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