Global Environmental Protection Act of 1989

Summary

Global Environmental Protection Act of 1989 - Title I: Elimination and Regulation of Global Change Pollutants - Part A: Chlorofluorocarbons and Related Chemicals - Global Stratospheric Ozone and Climate Preservation Act of 1989 - States that this Act's objectives are to restore and maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth's atmosphere and to protect human health and the global environment from all known and potential dangers due to atmospheric or climatic modification. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) publish a priority list of manufactured substances which are known, or may reasonably be anticipated, to cause or contribute to atmospheric or climatic modification, including chlorofluorocarbon-11, chlorofluorocarbon-12, chlorofluorocarbon-113, halon-1211, and halon-1301; (2) create and annually update a list of other manufactured substances which meet such criteria; and (3) assign to each listed substance a numerical value representing the ozone depletion potential of such substance. Imposes reporting requirements on producers of listed substances. Phases out, by January 1, 2000, the production or release of listed substances for any use other than medical purposes. Prohibits the use or introduction into interstate commerce of a priority-listed substance after 1993 except for approved medical purposes. Prohibits, after 2009, the production of any listed substance in annual quantities that yield a total ozone depletion greater than five percent of that produced by priority-listed substances in 1986. Directs the Administrator to require a producer of a listed substance to reduce production of such substance more rapidly if new information indicates that expedition is necessary for the protection of human health or the environment or the availability of substitutes makes expedited reductions attainable. Authorizes the President to issue orders exempting from this Act's requirements the production and use of halon-1211 and halon-1301 at any specified site or facility if the President finds that adequate substitutes are not available and the production and use of such substance is necessary to protect national security interests. Prohibits the importation of a priority listed substance, any product containing such substance, or any product manufactured with a process that uses such substance unless the Administrator has certified that the nations in which such substance or product was manufactured and from which such substance or product was imported have programs that require reduced production of such substance and limit the production of other substances covered by this Act pursuant to a schedule and limitations at least as stringent as those applicable under this Act. Deems a person who imports a listed substance or a product containing such substance to have produced such substance for purposes of this Act's requirements. Requires that containers in which listed substances are stored or transported, products containing such substances, and products manufactured with a process using such substances be labeled as harmful to public health and the environment by reason of the effect such substances have on the ozone and climate. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations regarding: (1) the use, recapture, recycling, and safe disposal of substances covered by this Act; and (2) the use of any manufactured substance that may exacerbate the problem of human induced global climate change. Prohibits, after 1992, the knowing use, release, or disposal of any substance covered by this Act (with specified exceptions) in a fashion which permits such substance to enter the environment. Exempts from such prohibition releases associated with: (1) the approved use of medical devices and diagnostic products for medical purposes; (2) good-faith attempts to recapture and recycle or safely dispose of such substances; and (3) the servicing or repair of equipment which contains such substances but does not include an aperture which allows the recapture of such substances, if, during the first servicing or repair after the effective date of this Act, an aperture or other such feature is installed. Part B: Carbon Dioxide - Act to Reduce and Stabilize Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide - Requires the Administrator to revise nonutility stationary source emission standards by January 1, 1990, and express such standards in terms of carbon dioxide emitted per unit or product output. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards requiring specified reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from cement kilns, iron and steel manufacturing operations, pulp and paper mills, and synthetic fiber plants by January 1, 2000. Amends the Clean Air Act to set motor vehicle carbon dioxide emission standards which require a reduction of such emissions of at least ten percent by 1990, 25 percent by 1995, 50 percent by 2000, and 75 percent by 2010 from 1985 carbon dioxide emission levels. Requires that, after January 1, 1992, new homes which are equipped with a central furnace, central air-conditioner, or hot-water heater be equipped only with one that satisfies the carbon dioxide emission limitation achieved by the best available residential control technology. Requires that each replacement central furnace, central air-conditioner, or hot-water heater installed in a home after 1992 satisfy such limitation. Part C: Methane - Methane Emission Elimination Act - Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by January 1, 1992, on: (1) the contribution of methane gas to global climate change; (2) the sources and sinks of methane; (3) the methods of controlling methane emissions; and (4) the relationship between methane emissions and concentrations of other trace gases. Requires that State solid waste management plans provide for the minimization of emissions of methane and other gases during the operation and after the closure of sanitary landfills. Prohibits, after 1993, mass releases and flaring of methane. Part D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Administrator to respond to violations of this title's requirements by assessing a civil penalty against violators and/or requiring their immediate compliance, or commencing a civil action in the U.S. district court in the district in which the violation occurred for appropriate relief. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title's requirements. Provides for judicial review of the Administrator's final actions. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce any permit, regulation, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order which has become effective pursuant to this title. Title II: Global Change Adjustment and Mitigation - Environmental Adjustment Act of 1989 - Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to add at the end thereof the Atmospheric Protection Act of 1989. Authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent possible: (1) policies, regulations, and laws of the United States be interpreted and administered in accordance with the Act's policies; and (2) all Federal agencies minimize the impacts of proposed actions on the global environment and prepare environmental impact statements regarding such actions. Title III: International Financing - Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require environmental impact assessments on proposed actions affecting the quality of the human environment by certain multilateral development banks listed under the Export-Import Bank Act Amendments of 1986. Directs the Council on Environmental Quality to establish the criteria for such assessments. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) take steps to expand international consensus on the importance of environmental issues and to secure support for programs that encourage energy efficiency and conservation and integrated pest management; and (2) report to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries on the progress made by the multilateral development banks in environmental assessment activities. Requires the Federal Government to undertake a systematic and comprehensive survey of all Federal lands and structures, by January 1, 1991, to ascertain their vulnerability to changes associated with global environmental changes. Directs the President to report to the Congress, by January 1, 1993, on the results of such survey, including recommendations for generic and site-specific actions and policies to preclude further public or private investment in susceptible areas and minimize and mitigate the loss or damage likely to occur. Ground Water Recharge Research and Demonstration Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to undertake a program of research, development, and demonstration of artificial groundwater recharge techniques. Requires the Secretary of the Army to submit to specified congressional committees a final report, by May 30, 1993, and a brief interim report, within 30 months of this Act's enactment, on such activities. Title IV: International Cooperation - Directs the President to request the United Nations to promptly establish a temporary new agency, to be headed by the Director of the United Nations Environmental Program, to: (1) coordinate international efforts to minimize and mitigate the effects of unavoidable environmental alterations; and (2) provide financial, technical, and other assistance to developing nations to facilitate improvements in their standard of living while minimizing or eliminating their contributions to global, continental, and subcontinental scale environmental damages. Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary program of forestation to: (1) assist and encourage nations in halting activities that are destroying forests; and (2) undertake a global reforestation program. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to other bilateral and multilateral organizations to assure that the activities of such organizations are consistent with this Act's goals and objectives. Establishes as a national goal the generation of 50 percent of the national supply of energy from nonpolluting technologies and practices by the year 2000 and 100 percent by the year 2050. Title V: Development of Nonpolluting Energy Sources - Authorizes the Administrator to charter the National New Energy Development Institute, an organization concerned with energy production standards and practices to be incorporated in the District of Columbia. Requires the Institute to promote the use of energy efficient technologies which will: (1) minimize the quantity of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and the consumption of scarce resources; (2) insure the competitiveness of U.S. industry; and (3) assure that human health and the environment will not be adversely affected. Directs the Institute to establish industry energy technology standards to protect the global climate. Outlines criteria to be considered by the Administrator in granting a charter to the prospective Institute. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to the Institute. Authorizes appropriations.

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• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 17 March 1989

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