Number: 1982-07
WHEREAS, acid precipitation (acid rain) falls on both land and water causing the acidification of soils, lakes and streams, loss of aquatic life, crop damage, forest die-back, corrosion of building materials, potential health hazards, leeching of toxic metallic ions into surface and groundwaters, and visibility impairment; and
WHEREAS, all of the 31 states east of and adjacent to the Mississippi River must be regarded as “extremely vulnerable” and another 10 as “moderately vulnerable” to acid rain; and
WHEREAS, the majority of acid rain in the 31-state eastern region is attributable to sulfur dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-burning electric utilities; and
WHEREAS, a National Academy of Sciences report has concluded that:
- the number of acidified lakes can be expected to more than double by 1990 unless current rates of emission of sulfur and nitrogen oxides are substantially reduced;
- deposited hydrogen ions must be reduced by at least 50 percent to protect sensitive freshwater ecosystems; and
- the acid rain problem can be solved only through substantial reductions in emissions of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen to the atmosphere from both existing and new sources; and
WHEREAS, the best available projections of the economic impacts of requiring a 10 million ton (40 percent) reduction by 1990 in sulfur dioxide emissions by eastern state utilities indicate that average utility rates in the region would increase by less than 2 percent, with the highest rate increases (in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri) being no more than 8 percent (the states subject to the largest rate increases are among today’s largest emitters; even after these increases, rates in these states would still be less than those in the mid-Atlantic and New England states); and
WHEREAS, the annual costs of acid deposition damage in the eastern United States are in the billions of dollars; and
WHEREAS, abnormally-acid rainfall and signs of acid rain damage are appearing in at least 11 states west of the Mississippi River;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 18-21, 1982, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, endorses and supports acid rain control legislation which: encompasses the 31 eastern states, freezes current levels of acid rain precursors in these states, and requires a significant reduction (e.g., 10 million tons) in sulfur dioxide emissions in these states within the next 10 years; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports an immediate acid rain control program which allocates sulfur dioxide emission reduction obligations among the eastern states on the basis of each state’s contribution of utility emissions in excess of a specified level (e.g., 1.2 pounds of SO2 per million Btu’s) calculated (with reference to an appropriate “base year”) to achieve an overall 10 million ton reduction in the indicated region and time-frame; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports additional study of acid rain, its causes, and its effects in the western United States, with the adoption of suitable control measures in this region to the extent necessary and appropriate.