Editorial: A rollback rolls / Cleaner air is on a Senate collision course

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Like a car rolling down a hill backward, a piece of wayward legislation is headed for a vote on the state Senate floor, probably this week -- and the result might be not pretty. If it succeeds, Senate Bill 1025 will deal a blow to hopes of improving air quality in Pennsylvania. This is no small concern for the thousands of Pennsylvanians who suffer from respiratory ailments. Some 37 counties, including Allegheny, are in the Environmental Protection Agency's "non-attainment" category for ground level ozone. What SB 1025 would do is rescind a plan that would give Pennsylvania a vehicle emissions program modeled after California and replace it with a weaker federal standard known as Tier II. The process involved in Pennsylvania's Clean Vehicle Program started under the Ridge administration. Recently, certain lawmakers seized upon it as a populist issue that would resonate with motorists. The fear-mongering and misrepresentation surrounding SB 1025 (and a companion bill, House Bill 2141) would do talk radio proud. Its supporters say that the commonwealth is abrogating its responsibility to California (it isn't) and that motorists will be forced to use more expensive California gas (they won't). They even dispute that the air will be any cleaner than if the state adopts the Tier II standard, a claim hotly contested by environmental groups. It is true that, years hence, vehicles will eventually cost more as a result of this program, but they will also be more fuel-efficient and cheaper to run. If the Clean Vehicles Program is changed, the state will risk federal sanctions and still must find another way to improve the air (remember those 37 counties?). In trying to help motorists, lawmakers could end up putting a greater burden on business. SB 1025, a threat to health and a potential job killer, should be rejected.