Air

Tracking the latest agency and congressional debates over rules to cut emissions of traditional pollutants, and a broad range of novel EPA policies including the agency's shift to a "multipollutant" regulatory approach for individual sectors.

Topic Subtitle
Tracking the latest agency and congressional debates over rules to cut emissions of traditional pollutants, and a broad range of novel EPA policies including the agency's shift to a "multipollutant" regulatory approach for individual sectors.

EPA REVIVES MULTI-MEDIA MERCURY PLAN BUT CONFLICT MAY STALL RELEASE

EPA staff are considering ways to revive development of the agency's long-stalled multi-media strategy for addressing mercury pollution, with officials debating whether to advance the agency's earlier approach or make significant changes to the plan, EPA and other sources say. But sources outside EPA are not sure the agency will release the national strategy this year because some officials fear it could renew criticism of the Bush administration's controversial plan for controlling mercury emissions from power plants in an election...

FEINGOLD SEEKS PRESIDENT'S INTERVENTION IN EPA MERCURY RULE PROCESS

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) is leading a group of 24 Democratic colleagues and one independent in asking President Bush to rein in his own staff who allegedly softened language in EPA's contentious mercury proposal. The letter is the second time in recent months that senators have weighed in on the mercury issue. In April, Feingold led an effort by 45 senators from both parties who wrote to EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt asking him to withdraw the proposal. In response, EPA...

INDUSTRY RENEWS COMPLAINTS OVER EPA'S USE OF SECRET AIR QUALITY MODEL

Industry groups are restarting efforts to stop EPA from using a model that predicts how rule changes impact industrial fuel mix, again raising concerns that the model's underlying code is secret, or proprietary, so its results cannot be verified. The Industrial Energy Consumers Association (IECA) will likely complain about the model as the group awaits EPA's promised energy impact analysis of the Bush administration's proposed clean air interstate rule (CAIR), which it fears will encourage fuel switching, according to an...

STATES PURSUE REGIONAL EMISSIONS TRADING BEYOND PENDING EPA RULES

State organizations in the Northeast and the West are considering separate regional cap-and-trade initiatives for power plant emissions, which could supplement a proposed federal rule that covers only part of the country and which some states argue is not stringent enough. In both cases, the state groups are trying to bring pollution down to a level that allows them to meet existing federal standards. The potential regional plans indicate that many states see a need for additional controls even as...

EPA, INDUSTRY PROPOSE PLAN TO MEASURE IN-USE DIESEL EMISSIONS

EPA is taking comment on a long-awaited proposal to require engine manufacturers to conduct in-use emissions testing of heavy-duty diesel trucks. The plan stems from a 1998 consent decree between EPA and engine makers after the agency accused them of installing "defeat devices" that allowed trucks to pass emissions tests in the laboratory but circumvent the limits on the road. The June 3 proposal establishes a portable test to ensure that the trucks do not release emissions higher than EPA's...

ENGINE MAKERS TO CHALLENGE WAIVER FOR SOUTH COAST FLEET RULES

The Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) is gearing up to contest plans by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District to seek a waiver from the Clean Air Act for its program regulating diesel fleets. The battle comes as the two entities are also disputing how to interpret the scope of a Supreme Court ruling that found the air district lacked authority to implement its diesel fleet rule, which requires public and privately owned fleets to replace their diesel vehicles with...

BOEHLERT VOWS TO PUSH CLEAN-DIESEL SCHOOL BUS BILL DESPITE SETBACKS

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) is pushing to increase funding to help clean up diesel-fueled school buses after a failed attempt last week to pull the proposal from comprehensive energy legislation and move it as a stand-alone bill. A Boehlert aide says House leaders rejected all requests to break apart the stalled energy bill in advance of a June 15 House re-vote on the measure. This vote was originally scheduled for last week but was postponed because of...

UTAH UTILITY SEEKS PERMIT USING DISPUTED MODEL CRITICS SAY HURTS PARKS

A Utah power company is using a disputed air quality modeling technique first developed in North Dakota to justify its request to expand a facility without adding pollution controls. Utah is now the second state to employ the modeling approach that has stirred national controversy and prompted EPA modelers in nearly all the regions to caution that the method could potentially underestimate pollution near wilderness areas. Officials in EPA Region VIII -- which includes both Utah and North Dakota --...

EPA PLAN TO ALLOW CROP BURNING IN IDAHO MAY THWART GROUPS' AIR SUIT

EPA's proposed approval of changes to Idaho's air quality strategy allowing farmers to burn grass fields after a harvest could make it more difficult for environmentalists to challenge the air quality impacts of these open burns, even though these groups argue the fires have major public health impacts. But environmental and public health groups are still pursuing other legal arguments to restrict crop burning in the state. Earlier this month, EPA published a Federal Register notice announcing its intent to...

BUSH ADMINISTRATION DEFENDS CUTS TO NOAA CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMS

The Bush administration is defending significant funding cuts to climate change research programs sought in fiscal year 2005 by the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), saying that its efforts to address uncertainty surrounding the risks of climate change are more robust than any previous administration. But the proposed funding cuts, which must be approved by congressional appropriators, are drawing scathing criticisms from environmentalists and researchers who charge that the administration is simply ignoring climate change because it does not...

EIA FINDS NEWEST MCCAIN-LIEBERMAN BILL LOWERS COSTS, ADDS FLEXIBILITY

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a branch of the Department of Energy, last week released a first-time analysis of a scaled-back version of the McCain-Lieberman climate change bill the senators prepared ahead of the failed vote on the measure last year. The report, prepared at the request of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), found the changes to the bill reduce near-term costs and add flexibility. Landrieu sought the revised analysis in May in response to speculation that the bill would soon...

CALIFORNIA GREENHOUSE GAS RULES LIKELY TO FACE LEGAL CHALLENGE

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a long-awaited draft plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles that is nearly certain to face a legal challenge from industry. The June 14 plan, which lists options for emission-reduction technologies the board says already exist, includes "low-rolling resistance" tires. The plan is expected to to add about a $1,000 to a vehicle's purchase price and focuses on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. The draft strategy does not include...

REFINERS URGE CONGRESS TO LESSEN IMPACT OF EPA'S OZONE RULES

The refining industry has suggested that Congress pass legislation either delaying implementation of EPA's stricter ozone standard or ensuring that regulators can take into account air quality benefits of other upcoming regulations when developing local pollution control plans, according to industry and congressional sources. The industry proposal was developed in preparation for a scheduled House vote on stalled energy proposals, which was originally set for last week but at press time was delayed until June 15 because of memorial services...

INDUSTRY DEALS MAY PRESSURE REGULATORS ON CLEAN-COAL TECHNOLOGY

Environmentalists and industry officials say two recent industry agreements on advanced coal gasification technology may pressure regulators to embrace the technology as an alternative to traditional coal-fired power generation. Environmentalists say the agreements could bolster their pleas that air quality regulators and utility commissions must consider requiring the technology -- integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology -- while some industry officials say the agreements could make it easier for banks and utilities to back the emerging technology. At issue is...

NORTHEAST ATTORNEYS GENERAL DEMAND PRESIDENTIAL RESPONSE ON TVA

Seven Northeast attorneys general (AGs) are urging President Bush to immediately order the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to remedy alleged clean air permit violations by installing pollution control equipment, arguing that only the president has the authority to require such actions now that the challenge to the government utility by EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) was lost in federal court and rejected for review by the Supreme Court. The demand is an attempt to hold President Bush directly...

ADVOCATES HAIL HEART ASSOCIATION LINK OF POLLUTION TO HEART DISEASE

The first-time acknowledgment by the American Heart Association (AHA) that air pollution is a serious cardiovascular risk is being applauded by environmental advocates who hope the scientific statement is only the beginning of AHA activism on the issue. They say the significance of a group such as AHA weighing in could boost efforts to require stringent reductions in air pollution and lead to even stricter clean air standards. The AHA has never before weighed in on clean air issues, but...

ACTIVIST REPORT OFFERS FIRST-TIME COMPARISON OF MULTI-POLLUTANT BILLS

A high-profile study released by environmentalists earlier this month is the first analysis to compare the health impacts of three major multi-pollutant bills pending in Congress, likely providing ammunition to opponents of the Bush administration's Clear Skies initiative. But electric utilities are blasting the report, saying it offers no proof that the power plants are the cause of the premature deaths. The report also comes just after government analysts released a new study finding that Clear Skies is the only...

DEMOCRATS USE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TO REACH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES

Democratic activists seeking to narrow the Republican advantage among religious voters are promoting environmental issues as a way to reach voters who supported President Bush in the last election. At the same time, a key left-leaning group is launching a multi-year effort to court religious communities on issues that include the environment, noting recent interest from Christian, Jewish and other faith groups in mercury pollution and global warming. "These are not Democratic issues, not Republican issues. There is a majority...

UAW WON'T SUPPORT BUSH, DESPITE KERRY PLAN TO HIKE CAFE STANDARDS

The United Autoworkers Union (UAW) will not support the re-election of President Bush in part because of the loss of autoworker jobs under his administration, a United Autoworkers union lobbyist says. The union instead is supporting presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, despite the Massachusetts senator's uncertain views on raising mandatory fuel economy standards. UAW has historically opposed any mandatory rise in corporate average fuel economy (CAFE), but does not seem to be concerned that Kerry campaign literature supports almost...

COURT RULING MAY ELEVATE SNOWMOBILE ISSUE FOR NEXT WHITE HOUSE

A recent federal court ruling questioning EPA regulations for snowmobile engines may give environmental groups a new opportunity to push for stronger standards, though some environmentalists say a major change could depend on the presidential election. At the same time, however, the June 1 ruling dealt a major blow to environmentalists' push to require emissions catalyst technology for the engines, rebuffing a claim that EPA improperly failed to require the technology. The ruling also vacated an emissions standard EPA set...

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