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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
August 25, 2000

STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

Canada - U.S. Ozone Annex Negotiations
Joint U.S.-Canada Statement
Ottawa, August 24-25, 2000

The two delegations met August 24-25 for the third negotiating 
session on an ozone annex to the 1991 Canada-U.S. Air Quality 
Agreement.

Both countries reaffirmed the objective to resolve all issues and 
to reach a signed agreement this year, to protect human health 
and the environment.

The discussions were cooperative and productive.

Provisional agreement was reached on defining a region in each 
country, associated with transboundary air pollution, to which 
the commitments of the Agreement will apply.  In Canada this 
includes the region within central and southern Ontario, and 
southern Quebec.  In the U.S., this includes 18 states and the 
District of Columbia.  These regions represent about 40% of the 
population of the United States and over 50% of the population of 
Canada.

Discussion took place on the commitments each country will place 
in the annex relating to the control and reduction of emissions 
of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  
NOx and VOCs are the precursors of ground-level ozone, which is a 
major component of smog.

The Parties discussed a variety of emission control measures for 
NOx and VOCs emissions that may be included as commitments in the 
Agreement to be concluded later this year.

For the U.S.:

The aggressive NOx emission reduction programme (known as the NOx 
SIP Call);

NOx and VOCs reductions associated with existing U.S. mobile 
source and fuel quality rules;

NOx and VOCs standards for new and modified stationary sources; 
and,

VOCs reductions associated with standards for stationary sources 
of hazardous air pollutants, consumer and commercial products, 
architectural coatings and automobile repair coatings.

For Canada:

Meeting or exceeding the U.S. nitrogen oxide requirements for 
fossil fuel electricity generating plants in Ontario and Quebec;

Implementing domestic regulations aligned with the new U.S. 
vehicle emissions regulations for cars, vans and light duty 
trucks;

Implementing future standards for small engines, such as outboard 
motors, aligned with requirements in the U.S.; and,

Aligning future diesel engines and fuel standards with the U.S.

Delegations also reached provisional agreement on:

Reporting requirements that would require each country to provide 
periodic tracking of emission data in the defined regions at 
monitors within 500 km of the boarder of Canada and the 
contiguous 48 U.S. states, as well as tracking air quality trends 
for ozone and NOx and VOCs; and, 

Provisions describing the purpose of the Annex, addressing 
revisiting the obligations in the future and sharing scientific 
and technical information.

The next and final negotiating session will take place in 
Washington on October 12-13, 2000.

Proposed U.S. Source Area:

Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin

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