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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 87-04 Position on Proposed Air Quality Controls for Denton CountyResolution # 4-87 RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF WESTLAKE OF TEXAS POSITION ON PROPOSED AIR QUALITY CONTROLS FOR DENTON COUNTY WHEREAS, the WESTLAKE, TX TOWN Council is fully supportive of clean air in D nton County and the Dallas -Fort Worth metroplex and "all reasonable efforts" to reach this goal in the "most effective and economically feasible" manner; and WHEREAS, the Council is aware that the U.S. E.P.A. has mandated revisions to the State Implementation Plan which could impose stringent ozone controls on Denton County; and WHEREAS, this mandate is based upon highly questionable interpretations of federal law, agency regulations, and analysis of ozone values from a monitoring site which was intended to measure downwind effects from Dallas --Fort Worth and not to represent the air quality affected by sources in Denton County; and WHEREAS, analysis indicates that controls applied to Denton County will not change peak ozone concentrations at the Denton County monitoring site and that attainment of the ozone standard is dependent on emission reductions in Dallas and Tarrant Counties, whose ozone is carried by prevailing winds into Denton County; and WHEREAS, E.P.A. states that their primary reason for requiring controls is that Denton County commuter traffic contributes 3.1% of the total vehicle travel in Dallas and Tarrant counties and not because of locally generated emissions, with a secondary reason that there is a potential for new emission sources (business and industries) to locate in Denton County instead of Dallas or Tarrant counties; and WHEREAS, imposition of the vehicle emission controls in Denton County may reduce ozone levels by only 0.9% of the amount needed for attainment in Dallas and Tarrant counties, at an exorbitant cost of $4,157 per ton of reduction and an initial cost to Denton County residents of almost $3.5 million; and WHEREAS, the other controls and the offset requirement for new or expanding industry/business in particular would have a sever negative impact on Denton County's economic development and the generation of jobs in the County, which would reduce commuter traffic to Dallas and Tarrant counties; and WHEREAS, similar controls are not being proposed for counties south of Dallas and Tarrant Counties which could be expected to cause downwind problems for Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin Counties; and 1 WHEREAS, analysis of Denton County's fixed site emission sources shown little or no possibility for offset reductions; and WHEREAS, the E.P.A. has determined that controls should be imposed on Denton County even though emissions within Denton County are minimal; and WHEREAS, the Council has concluded that E.P.A.'s decision to mandate these controls is arbitrary, capricious, and possibly beyond the agency's legal authority and that the negative effect of these controls would be unreasonable, grossly disproportionate to Denton County's contribution to the problem or to the possible benefits, and not economically feasible or cost effective; and WHEREAS, E.P.A.'s decision will affect not only Denton County, but has implications for other counties on a state-wide basis which should be of concern to our state government; NOW THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of Texas, on behalf of the City Council, I do hereby request that the Texas Air Control Board take the following actions: 1. Request legal action from the Texas Attorney General to resolve the legal questions raised by E.P.A.'s decision and to obtain an injunction restraining E.P.A. from imposing these controls until these questions are settled, by'the judicial system if necessary; 2. If unable to obtain relief through judicial channels, make every effort to limit controls to those which bear some relationship to E.P.A.'s justification of commuter traffic, rather than those which would affect industries that are not and will not contribute to Dallas and Tarrant Counties' problem. Resolved by the City Council of the City of Texas this the '� day of�'�' ATTEST: C ty Secretary Mayor F, 1987.