ed a much lower r3 (.25). Multiple regressions of H* versus excess SO, and other parameters taken one at a time (for example, NO, or NH,*) did not improve the correlation, but regression of H+ versus excess SO, and Ca2+ yielded the equation [H+] = 6.1 0.54[SO,2ls - 0.35[Ca**] R1 = .75, where the subscript xs stands for nonmarine-derived material. This two-variable model thus implies that the acidity of Florida rainfall can be accounted for in large part in terms of the interaction between H,SO, and terrestrially derived basic calcium salts. Historical pH data are lacking for Florida rainfall. However, pH values calculated by the ionic balance method (2) from Junge's data (9) for five locations in Florida indicate that rainfall at these sites had pH values above 5.6 in the mid-1950's (Table 1). Large increases have occurred in the concentrations of excess SO, and especially of NO, in Florida rainfall since the mid-1950's. The average increase in the sum of these two ions over the state (23.5 μeq/liter) is more than adequate to account for the average increase in H* (14.8 to 17.3 μeq/ liter). Moreover, present deposition values for SO, are up to four times higher (Fig. 2B) than values obtained at several sites in the early 1950's (10). The largest increases in the deposition of SO,2- have occurred in the northern part of the state. If fluxes of sea sulfur and biogenic sulfur have remained constant, the differences represent a substantial increase in anthropogenic excess SO,2-. Although the degree of acidity in Florida rainfall is not as great as that presently occurring in the northeastern United States, our findings are of serious concern for several reasons. Because Florida receives 50 to 75 percent more rainfall annually than most of the Northeast, the differences in the annual deposition of H✶ and SO, are smaller than the pH-concentration data suggest. For example, 206 cm of rainfall resulted in the deposition of 500 eq of H per hectare and 11.5 kg of sulfur per hectare at Jay in the period May 1978 to April 1979; analogous values for the same period at Lake Apopka are 136 cm of rain, 342 eq of H per hectare, and 6.8 kg of sulfur. per hectare. In comparison, precipitation at Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire, deposited an average of 970 eq of H+ per hectare (4) and 12.7 kg of sulfur per hectare (11) over the 10-year period 19641965 to 1973-1974. Thus northern FlorSCIENCE, VOL. 208, 30 MAY 1980 ida receives about one third to one half the H* deposition and 50 to 90 percent of the excess SO, deposition of the heavily impacted Northeast. Florida's highly weathered, sandy soils characteristically have low cationexchange capacities (12). Thus soils in Florida are unable to provide much buffering capacity. Numerous soft-water lakes occur in the sandhill region of north and central Florida. and these lakes obtain most of their water directly from rainfall and from subsurface seepage through the sandy soils. Annual average pH values in a group of 12 such lakes (Trail Ridge lakes) located about 40 km east of Gainesville (Fig. 1A) are now 0.3 to 0.9 unit lower than the average pH values measured in the late 1950's and late 1960's (6). For example. Lake Brooklyn (Clay County) had a pH of 5.5 (N = 6) during 1957-1960. a pH of 5.0 (N = 6) during 1967-1972. and a pH of 4.9 (N = 7) during 1977-1979. In comparison, no significant long-term trends in pH have been observed in a group of eight soft-water lakes in Highlands County, south central Florida (Fig. 1A), in an area near the present southern limit of acid precipitation. Because Florida's population still is expanding rapidly, the demands for electric power are increasing more rapidly in Florida than in most other states. Like most of the rest of the United States, Florida is shifting to coal as the energy source for new electric power-generating capacity. At present, six coal-fired plants [total capacity, 2086 MW (electric)] are operating in peninsular Florida, but 15 additional plants with a generating capacity of 6884 MW (electric) are planned for this region by 1987 (13). The effects of the added emissions on the acidity of Florida rainfall, and the consequent effects on Florida's vulnerable aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. should be carefully examined in the coming years. PATRICK L. BREZONIK ERIC S. EDGERTON Department of Environmental References and Notes 1. F. H. Braekke. Ed., Impact of Acid Precipi tation on Forest and Freshwater Ecosystems in Norway (SNSF Project, 1432 Aas. Norwegian Forest Research Institute, Agricultural University of Norway. Norway, 1976). 2. L. Granat, Tellus 24, 550 (1972). 3. C. V. Cogbill and G. E. Likens, Water Resour. Res. 10, 1133 (1974), L. S. Dochinger and T. A. Seliga. Eds., Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Acid Precipitation and the Forest Ecosystem (Department of Agriculture. Washington, D.C., 1976) 4. G. E. Likens, Chem. Eng. News 54 (No. 48), 29 (1976). 3. R. F. Wright, J. N. Galloway, T. J. Butler. Sci Am. 241 (No. 4), 43 (1979). 6. P. L. Brezonik, C. D. Hendry. E. S. Edgerton, R. Schulze, T. L. Crisman. in preparation. 7. G. E. Likens, "The chemistry of precipitation in the central Finger Lakes region" (Technical Report 50, Water Resources and Marine Sciences Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.. 1972). 8. C. D. Hendry, E. S. Edgerton, P. L. Brezonik, paper presented at the 178th annual meeting of the Amencan Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., September 1979. 9. C. E. Junge. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 39, 241 (1958). and R. T. Werby. J. Mete orol. 15, 417 (1958). 10. H. V. Jordan, C. E. Bardsley, Jr., L. E. Eas minger, J. A. Lutz, Sulfur content of rainwater and atmosphere in southern states" (Technical Bulletin 1196, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1959) 11. G. E. Likens, F. H. Bormann, R. S. Pierce, J. S. Eaton, N. M. Johnson, Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem (Springer-Verlag. New York, 1977), p. 101. 12. Many agricultural and forest soils in Florida have cation-exchange capacities of 2 to 3 meq per 100 g. soils from New York and Pennsylva nia generally have cation-exchange capacities of at least 18 to 20 meq per 100 g (B. Volk, personal communication). 13. W. E. Boich and M. J. Ohanian, personal communication: Southeast Electric Reliability Council Report, Birmingham, Ala., 1 April 1978. 14. B. Madsen, personal communication. 15. We thank all those who have assisted us in maintaining precipitation collectors at distant sites. This work was supported by grant R805560 from the Environmental Protection Agency. 4 December 1979; revised 19 February 1980 Senator TSONGAS. Senator Durkin. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN A. DURKIN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE Senator DURKIN. Mr. Chairman, as you know, Senator Moynihan and myself added title X to S. 932 which shortly-at least by the 4th of July recess, we hope-will be the existing law with respect to acid rain and the acid rain program. I have a copy of the conference agreement on title X, S. 932. I am not going to read the whole thing. We only have a few copies at the present time, but we will make them available. I would just like to highlight the provisions of the conference agreement. I think they are meaningful. The purpose clause states that the purpose of title X, the acid precipitation program, is to identify the causes and sources of acid precipitation, evaluate the environmental, social, and economic effects; then, based on the results, take action to the extent necessary to limit or eliminate the identifiable emissions which are sources of acid precipitation and to remedy or otherwise ameliorate the adverse effects. It establishes an interagency task force. The three joint chairpeople would be NOAA, EPA, and the Agriculture Department, with a resource management consortium made up of the four national laboratories, Argonne, Battelle Northwest, Brookhaven, and Oak Ridge. The comprehensive plan for the 10-year program shall include amongst other things-and I won't list them all-identifying the sources of atmospheric emissions contributing to acid precipitation, establishing and operating a nationwide monitoring network, research in atmospheric physics and chemistry to facilitate an understanding of the problem, development and application of atmospheric transport models to enable prediction of long-range transport substances defining the geographic areas of impact. The comprehensive plan shall be submitted in draft form to Congress for public review 6 months after the effective date of the act and, as I say, we expect this to be signed by the President by the 4th of July recess. Then it will be available for public comment for a period of 60 days. There is a $5 million appropriation for a period of 10 years for a total of a $50 million appropriation. The implementation of the comprehensive plan shall be carried out during the 9 fiscal years following submission of the plan. I think we have to do more, but I think this is a meaningful step forward and does put legislation on the books addressing the fact that the Congress is taking cognizance that this is a very serious problem. And in the area that Paul and I live in, we have seen additional problems. We have an added problem in New Hampshire in that the granite composition seems to have an added adverse impact. And being a fisherman, even though I have not had as much time to fish as I would like, it would appear that it is beginning to impact on some of the more shallow ponds in my State. I would submit this summary of the conference committee's agreement on an acid rain assessment program for the record. And I know we do not have enough copies for all those who are interested, but we will try to get them just as soon as possible. And I thank the chairman. Senator TSONGAS. You will insert the summary of the conference report? Senator DURKIN. I will insert the conference report agreement, which is five pages. Senator TSONGAS. Thank you. [The summary follows:] 66-112 0-80--6 Section 1001. STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSES... (a) The Congress finds and declares that acid precipitation resulting from other than natural sources: (1) could contribute to the increasing pollution of natural and man-made water systems; (2) could adversely affect agricultural and forest crops; (3) could adversely affect fish and wildlife and natural ecosystems generally; (4) could contribute to corrosion of metals, wood, paint, and masonry used in construction and ornamentation of buildings and public monuments; (5) could adversely affect public health and welfare; and (6) could affect areas distant from sources and thus involve issues of national and international policy. (b) The Congress declares that it shall be the purpose of this title to.. (1) identify the causes and sources of acid precipitation; (2) evaluate the environmental, social, and economic effects of acid precipitation; and (3) based on the results of the research program established by this title and to the extent consistent with existing law, take action, to the extent necessary and practicable, to limit or eliminate the identified emissions which are sources of acid precipitation, and to remedy or otherwise ameliorate the adverse effects which may result from acid precipitation. (c) For purposes of this title the term "acid precipitation" means the wet or dry deposition from the atmosphere of acid chemical compounds. (d) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE, COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM, AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. (1) There shall be established by the title a comprehensive ten. year program, and to implement this program there shall be formed an Acid Precipitation Task Force which shall consist of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Secretary of Agriculture as the joint chairmen of the Task Force. The Administrator of the NOAA is to serve as the director of the research programs established or carried out pursuant to this title. Other members of the Task Force shall consist of one representative each from the Department of Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Council on Environmental Quality, the National Science Foundation, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. There shall be an additional four members who are to be appointed by the President. There shall also be four additional members of the Task Force consisting of the director of each of the four national energy laboratories, Argonne, Battelle Northwest, Brookhaven and Oak Ridge, which laboratories shall constitute a research management consortium. having responsibilities as described in subsection (3)(M) of this section, as well as their general responsibilities required by their representation on the Task Force. In carrying out these responsibilities, the consortium shall report to and receive direction from the joint chairmen of the Task Force. (2) The members of the Task Force shall prepare a comprehensive research plan (hereafter referred to as the "comprehensive plan"), which shall set forth the coordinated program (A) to identify the causes and effects of acid precipitation and (B) to identify actions to limit or ameliorate the harmful effects of acid precipitation. (3) The comprehensive plan for the ten-year program shall include programs for .. (A) identifying the sources of atmospheric emissions contributing to acid (B) establishing and operating a nationwide long-term monitoring network to (C) research in atmospheric physics and chemistry to facilitate understanding of (D) development and application of atmospheric transport models to enable (E) defining geographic areas of impact through deposition, monitoring, (F) broadening of impact data bases through collection of existing data on (G) development of dose-response functions with respect to soils, soil (H) establishing and carrying out system studies with respect to plant (1) economic assessments of the environmental impacts caused by acid (J) documenting all current Federal activities related to research on acid (K) effecting cooperation in acid precipitation research and development 2 |