SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
(By Senators Minear, Sharpe, Boley, Schoonover, Scott and Ross)



Urging the Congress of the United States to reconsider and modify the 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act, known as the acid rain legislation.
Whereas, The 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act, the so-called acid rain amendments, are restricting and will further restrict local and country-wide markets for high sulfur coal used principally at electric power plants; and
Whereas, Said amendments were adopted without consideration of the ten-year five hundred million dollar study of acid rain deposition performed by the federal environmental protection agency which concluded that acid rain does not pose the significant environmental threat claimed by environmentalists; and
Whereas, The effect of said amendments has had the detrimental impact of significantly and permanently reducing the production and sales, locally and country-wide, of northern West Virginia high sulfur coal; said impact will become even more severe by the year two thousand when Phase II of said amendments which will apply statewide becomes effective; and
Whereas, The direct and indirect economic losses to West Virginia and her counties, including social costs such as welfare, retraining and child support, will be devastating to West Virginia's economy; and
Whereas, A reduction of one and one-half million tons in production of high sulfur coal has been estimated by a united mine workers study to result in a loss of hundreds of coal miners' jobs and an annual revenue loss of five million dollars; and
Whereas, The cost to electric power companies of complying with said amendments by using only higher-priced low sulfur coal, most of which can only be supplied from out-of-state sources, by expensively converting to different fuels or by constructing costly sulfur-removing facilities must be recovered through imposition of higher electric rates upon consumers; and
Whereas, Repeal of Phase II of the acid rain provisions to the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 would be consistent with President Bill Clinton's campaign promise to "Get Americans Back to Work" and with the more recent republican "Contract with America" signed by majority members of the House of Representatives; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the West Virginia Legislature urges the Congress of the United States to review the 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act, known as the acid rain legislation; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby requested to forward copies of this resolution to the members of West Virginia's congressional delegation.