COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS NINETY-FIRST CONGRESS SECOND SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING OPEN DISCUSSION OF THE AUGUST 11, 1970 Printed for the use of the Committee on Public Works 49-576 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1970 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS JENNINGS RANDOLPH, West Virginia, Chairman STEPHEN M. YOUNG, Ohio B. EVERETT JORDAN, North Carolina JOSEPH M. MONTOYA, New Mexico THOMAS F. EAGLETON, Missouri MIKE GRAVEL, Alaska JOHN SHERMAN COOPER, Kentucky RICHARD B. ROYCE, Chief Clerk and Staff Director J. B. HUYETT, Jr., Assistant Chief Clerk and Assistant Staff Director BARRY MEYER, Counsel BAILEY GUARD, Assistant Chief Clerk (Minority) TOM C. JORLING, Minority Counsel Professional Staff Members: JOSEPH F. VAN VLADRICKEN, LEON G. BILLINGS, RICHARD D. Grundy, STEWART E. MCCLURE, HAROLD H. BRAYMAN, ADRIEN WALLER, RICHARD W. WILSON, PHILIP T. CUMMINGS, and JOHN YAGO REPORT OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1970 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AIR AND WATER POLLUTION The subcommittee met at 10:42 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 4200, New Senate Office Building, Senator Edmund S. Muskie (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Muskie, Spong, Boggs, and Dole. Also present: Richard B. Royce, chief clerk and staff director; Bailey Guard, assistant chief clerk (minority); M. Barry Meyer, counsel; Thomas C. Jorling, minority counsel; Leon G. Billings, Richard D. Grundy, Adrien Waller, Richard W. Wilson, and Philip T. Cummings, professional staff members. Senator MUSKIE. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to Chairman Train and his colleagues for taking the time to visit with us this morning about this very important report. I would like to read a brief statement to put this hearing in its context from our point of view. Today's hearing is for the purpose of providing open discussion of the findings and recommendations of the President's Council on Environmental Quality as released by the President at noon yesterday. The Council is to be commended for preparing a comprehensive summary and review of the Nation's critical environmental problems. While the recommendations included in the report are substantially the same as those made by the President earlier this year, they reemphasize the urgency of immediate action to reverse present trnds toward environmental destruction. The report has its limitations. As the report itself explains, time did not allow implementation of the Council's mandate "to formulate and recommend national policies to promote the improvement of the quality of the environment." The report underlines the need to change our crisis response to environmental problems. Statutory deadlines, mandatory change, and governmental restrictions on mobility are the byproducts of poor planning in the past. The problems we face today should have been dealt with in the fifties. But we did not. So, today, the environmental crisis is accepted as inevitable. Pending legislation-some of which will be enacted this year— should force us to change our habits. Automobiles may be banned |