Gore to introduce rules to improve national parks' air quality

By H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press, April 22, 1999

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Al Gore will use Earth Day today to announce new regulations to clean up the air over smoggy federal parks -- touting his environmental record as a strength as he pursues the presidency.

At the same time, some Republican presidential hopefuls are beginning to portray Gore as an extremist when it comes to protecting the Earth. GOP contender Dan Quayle promised in a scathing speech to press Gore on environmental issues in the upcoming campaign.

In a trip today to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Gore will announce a new federal push to bring air quality over national parks -- some of which now choke in summer smog -- back to pristine, pre-industrial levels.

The regulations will call for states to adopt pollution controls that steadily improve air quality in each of the next six decades with a goal to eliminating man-made pollution by 2064 in such parks as the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia in Maine. The Environmental Protection Agency would implement the rules.

Even states that have no pollution-plagued parks will have to develop programs to achieve the long-term goal, including further reductions in emissions from coal-burning power plants, say sources briefed on the new requirements.

For the first time, the government will force states to assess the sources of park air pollution and require some sources to install more sophisticated control technologies.

Convinced that environmental protection resonates positively among voters, Gore chose to personally highlight the new park air rules, just as he recently did in announcing a program aimed at combating suburban sprawl.

While some Republican presidential aspirants remain uncertain over how to respond to Gore on the environment, others are taking the offensive.

In a strong attack on Gore in remarks delivered last night to the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, Quayle called Gore's fervor on the environment an extremist attack on capitalism and reflective of a vision that is "pessimistic to the core."

Quayle accused Gore of promoting a global warming policy based on findings that are "highly debatable" with "no scientific consensus." And he accused Gore -- concerning his recent initiative to protect open spaces -- of trying to dictate "where you should live, and how to design your commute to work."

Fred Smith, the institute's president, said Republicans know the "Democrats have the ball" on the environment issue. After speaking to some GOP presidential aspirants, he said, "All of them are nervous about the issue."

Yesterday Republicans in Congress gave reporters a list of environmental accomplishments and objectives. "We are here to dispel the myth that only one party is engaged in shaping environmental policy," said Rhode Island Senator John Chafee.