Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area in Colorado. There are still other prob- 

 lems we will examine today that hinder our efforts to protect our 

 Nation's crown jewels. 



But there is something of a bright side, too. 



After that hearing 4 years ago, Congress included provisions in 

 the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 which were designed to 

 have major impact on air quality of our national parks and wilder- 

 ness areas. 



The eight-State Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission 

 created by the 1990 amendments is up and running. It should de- 

 liver its options report to EPA by November 1995 for protecting the 

 golden circle of magnificent national parks and wilderness areas in 

 the Colorado plateau. 



Its working groups, which include members of industry, govern- 

 ment, and environmental organizations, hopefully will provide an 

 administrative and scientific model for further interstate air pollu- 

 tion control efforts. 



Federal land managers have not stopped the States from issuing 

 new source permits over their objections. But negotiations between 

 State air quality officials and Federal land managers often produce 

 significantly tighter PSD permits and greatly reduced emissions. 

 Administrative weaknesses found in 1990 have largely been cor- 

 rected. 



The acid rain title of the Clean Air Act Amendments should 

 produce some noticeable visibility improvements in the Eastern 

 United States in the future, although the exact amount of change 

 is still unknown. Unfortunately, they are not likely to produce posi- 

 tive results in the Western United States. 



In the end, all these improvements won't protect the most sen- 

 sitive and special places. We need regional haze regulations now; 

 17 years is simply too long for the Congress and the American peo- 

 ple to wait. 



This morning, I am joined by my closest Republican friend and 

 dear colleague, ranking minority on Government Operations and 

 just a darn good guy, Bill dinger. 



Mr. Clinger. My goodness. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I want to commend you on holding this hearing regarding the 

 Federal and State efforts to maintain clean air in our national 

 parks and wilderness areas, an issue that you and I visited some 

 4 years ago, and it is good to return to it to see where we are and 

 what steps we have taken to go forward and where we need to pro- 

 vide additional attention. 



It is an important issue as we find an increasing use of our na- 

 tional parks by our citizens. In many cases, these parks are some 

 of the most pristine and spectacular wilderness areas, such as the 

 Grand Canyon you referred to, that our citizens have to enjoy in 

 this country. 



However, air pollution can take away, does take away from the 

 quality of that wilderness experience that people look forward to 

 when they visit our national parks. 



Since the last hearing which the subcommittee held on this issue 

 back in 1990, the Clean Air Act has been enacted. Although there 

 still may be some problems, hopefully there has been progress 

 made since the enactment and now implementation of this land- 



