117 



in three cases, which would have impacted the James River Face 

 Wilderness in Virginia. 



In addition, the agency has responded on six other proposals 

 with initial concerns that the applicant was able to address 

 through mitigation. The agency has also indicated concerns on ap- 

 proximately 20 others where we did not feel we had sufficient data 

 to make a call, but wanted to alert the State and the applicants 

 that concerns existed, which the agency desired to address by 

 working in cooperation with the States and the applicants. 



The Forest Service formally certified the impairment of visibility 

 and aquatic ecosystems in the Mt. Zirkel wilderness to the State 

 of Colorado in July 1993. Technical information indicated that it 

 was reasonable to conclude air pollutants were impairing both visi- 

 bility and aquatic ecosystems within the Mt. Zirkel wilderness. 



We are currently working in cooperation with State agencies and 

 with the circle air quality study collaborative to address both the 

 visibility and the ecosystem impacts. 



There is one major area of concern for the Forest Service in Colo- 

 rado. It is possible that the State of Colorado may not be able to 

 address the impacts to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through 

 existing regulation. In response, the Forest Service has requested 

 consideration of a change to the State's air quality regulations and 

 has submitted language for such a proposed rule. 



The State could fix the visibility issue with a series of controls. 

 However, that could exacerbate the acid deposition problem. Con- 

 sequently, we feel strongly that both the visibility and the aquatic 

 ecosystem problems need to be solved, addressed and solved at the 

 same time. 



My third point was on collaborative efforts. Because of the ubiq- 

 uitous nature of how the act was written, collaborative efforts are 

 absolutely essential. We think that is taking place. Successful im- 

 plementation of the Clean Air Act will require a combination of all 

 of our research and management results and experiences in a col- 

 laborative effort. 



The Department of Agriculture, Mr. Chairman, stands ready to 

 do what is necessary to continue implementation of the Clean Air 

 Act and to work in cooperation with others toward that end. Thank 

 you. 



[The prepared statement of Ms. Backiel follows:] 



