Rain, Rain, Go Away

Proposals to control acid rain, by restricting sulfur dioxide and other industrial emissions, have been deadlocked in Congress for years. Despite reams of study on its polluting effects, President Reagan opposes new federal regulations, saying that more study is needed. In the Ohio River Valley, where much of the pollution originates before prevailing winds carry it eastward, industry views controls as prohibitively expensive. The high-sulfur coal-mining companies there are worried that restrictions will prompt a switch to low-sulfur coals produced in

Western states. As legislators and environmentalists haggle over programs, acid rain continues to contaminate lakes and forests.

New York, whose glorious Adirondack lakes are thought to be among the prime victims of acid rain, last week became the first state to pass a law to reduce acid rain. Governor Mario Cuomo signed a bill ordering industries that burn coal in the state to cut sulfur dioxide emissions 30% by 1991. The Business Council of New York State opposed the law, claiming it would raise rate payers' electric bills while not solving the acid-rain problem. The dilemma is that the pollution knows no boundaries. Indeed, environmentalists say that New York produces less than a third of its own acid rain. Cuomo and his legislature hope their move will inspire other states and the Federal Government to adopt similar laws.