Minnesota Session Laws - 1985, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1985 

                        RESOLUTION 2-S.F.No. 1231
 A resolution memorializing the President and Congress 
of the United States to take immediate steps to reduce 
acid deposition.  
    WHEREAS, acid deposition is one of the most serious 
unaddressed environmental problems of the North American 
continent; and 
    WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature in 1982 stated that acid 
deposition resulting from the conduct of commercial, industrial, 
and transportation operations both within and without the state 
poses a present and severe danger to the delicate balance of 
ecological systems within the state, and that the failure to act 
promptly and decisively to mitigate or eliminate this danger 
will result in untold and irreparable damage to the forest, 
agriculture, water, fish, and wildlife resources of the state; 
and 
    WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature in 1982 passed this 
nation's first state program to control acid deposition; and 
    WHEREAS, Minnesota businesses and industries have reduced 
emissions more than 50 percent over the last ten years; and 
    WHEREAS, recent studies indicate that lakes in the 
Voyageurs National Park, Superior National Forest, and the 
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are highly sensitive to 
acid deposition; and 
    WHEREAS, acid deposition has a potential of destroying 
crops, reducing forest productivity, debilitating aquatic life 
cycles, and corroding metals and man-made structures; and 
    WHEREAS, acid deposition can contribute to the increasing 
levels of heavy metal concentrations in surface and groundwaters 
which can pose a threat to human health; and 
     WHEREAS, acid deposition that may cause acidification of 
lakes and loss or reduction of game fish threatens the 
sport-fishing industry of Minnesota; and 
     WHEREAS, the pollutants responsible for acid deposition can 
be carried hundreds of miles from their source which reflects 
the national and international nature of the acid deposition 
problem; and 
     WHEREAS, approximately 70 percent of acidic deposition in 
Minnesota results from sources outside the state of Minnesota; 
and 
     WHEREAS, the current federal Clean Air Act and 
Environmental Protection Agency regulations do not specifically 
address the acid deposition issue or provide relief to states 
like Minnesota that are significantly affected by the long-range 
transport of air pollutants; and 
    WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota has entered into a 
memorandum of understanding with the Province of Ontario for the 
purpose of sharing scientific data and technical expertise, 
collaborating on efforts to develop a better understanding of 
the causes and effects of acid deposition, and on the 
establishment of integrated national action plans to reduce and 
prevent emissions; and 
     WHEREAS, Canada has announced the adoption of a 
comprehensive emission reduction and funding package to combat 
the acid deposition problem by mounting an aggressive effort to 
reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 1994, and in so 
doing, recognized the threat posed by acid deposition; and 
     WHEREAS, present and future generations of Minnesotans will 
be adversely affected by any delay in establishing federal 
controls of emissions that cause acid deposition; NOW, 
THEREFORE, 
    BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
that the President and Congress should take immediate action to 
reduce the emission of pollutants that cause acid deposition by 
amendment to the Clean Air Act, or by separate comprehensive 
legislation, and by providing adequate funding to the 
Environmental Protection Agency for monitoring and enforcement.  
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of 
Minnesota is instructed to transmit enrolled copies of this 
memorial to the President of the United States, the President 
and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and 
the Chief Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, 
to Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress, and to 
the Canadian Ambassador to the United States. 
    Approved April 29, 1985