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.

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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.

CONSULTANTS REJECT CALLS FOR NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOR NANOTECH

CH A respected nanotechnology consulting firm is recommending in a major annual report on environmental and health challenges pertaining to nanotechnology risk evaluation that policymakers adjust current laws and regulations instead of creating a new law that has authority over the promising new technology. Lux Research Inc., a New York-based nanotechnology consulting firm, released its second annual report on the technology's environmental, health and safety risks in June, urging industries to collaborate on efforts to limit risks; for companies and...

FUEL ADDITIVE COULD OFFER FIRST-TIME AIR ACT TEST FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY

An effort by a nanotechnology company to seek EPA approval to market an engineered nanomaterial that is believed to improve diesel fuel economy and reduce emissions is being followed by a number of observers who say this application may be a first test of how the Clean Air Act (CAA) applies to engineered nanomaterials. Because the materials are eventually dispersed in engine exhaust, the effort could also serve as an early test of EPA's response to "dispersive" uses of engineered...

MTBE RULING HAMPERS INDUSTRY PREEMPTION DEFENSE IN FUTURE LAWSUITS

A federal court's recent ruling rejecting oil industry claims that the Clean Air Act preempts state tort lawsuits over contamination from the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) sets a significant precedent for future suits by frustrating industry's ability to raise the preemption argument again, plaintiffs' lawyers say. Judge Shira Scheindlin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled June 23 in In re: MTBE Products Liability Litigation to reject industry arguments that the...

CONSULTANTS REJECT CALLS FOR NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOR NANOTECH

A respected nanotechnology consulting firm is recommending in a major annual report on environmental and health challenges pertaining to nanotechnology risk evaluation that policymakers should adjust current laws and regulations instead of creating a new law that has authority over the promising new technology. Lux Research Inc., a New York-based nanotechnology consulting firm, released its second annual report on the technology's environmental, health and safety risks in June, urging industries to collaborate on efforts to limit risks; for companies and...

NAS Report Fails To Provide Certainty On EPA's New Source Review Reforms

A long-awaited report released July 21 by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) does little to settle the debate and provide regulatory certainty to industry over EPA's new source review (NSR) program, which requires facilities to install controls when they make major modifications that increase pollution. The NAS report , which assesses EPA reforms to the controversial Clean Air Act program, concludes that the agency lacks data to fully assess the air pollution, public health and energy-efficiency impacts of the...

Hold On EPA Data Nominee Over TRI Reforms May Force Recess Appointment

Two Democratic lawmakers' recent hold on Molly O'Neill, EPA's nominee to head its information office, may force the White House to make O'Neill a recess appointment unless the agency drops controversial changes to its Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, Democratic and other sources say. New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez have placed a hold on the nominee to protest EPA's proposal to dramatically scale back reporting requirements under TRI and are vowing to keep the hold in place...

NEW HEALTH, COMPLIANCE DATA HIGHLIGHT EPA'S TOUGH CALL ON PM RULE

New EPA data showing hundreds of counties would violate strict new fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards and a scientific study that says PM2.5 risks are dramatically higher than previously believed highlight the tough choice EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson is facing as he decides whether to tighten the agency's PM rules. New EPA modeling data supplied to Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) show that hundreds of counties would violate EPA's proposed new PM2.5 standard, according to copies of the data obtained by...

LAWSUIT MAY FORCE TIGHTER VALLEY DAIRY-EMISSION STANDARDS

Environmentalists are suing the San Joaquin Valley air district over a landmark rule targeting air pollution from dairies, claiming the district is fabricating emission reductions and failing to require dairies to use the most effective methods to control pollution, as required by law. But the district and dairy industry dispute activists' claims and predict the case will be thrown out. The suit is significant because if activists succeed they could force the district to require more stringent, costly mitigation requirements...

CAL/EPA GHG-REDUCTION PROPOSAL DETAILS NEW OVERSIGHT BOARD

Cal/EPA officials have released draft amendments to landmark legislation creating a state greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction program, detailing a proposed cabinet-level board that would be charged with developing a regulatory "market-based" system for reducing GHG emissions in various industry sectors. Democrats carrying the pending bill are reviewing the agency's proposal and are likely to incorporate key elements, sources said. Environmentalists supporting the pending legislation (AB 32, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles and Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills) said this...

AG INDUSTRY FEARS SOUTH COAST FARM ENGINE RULE SETS BAD PRECEDENT

The California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) is blasting a South Coast air district decision to require permits for new and modified engines used in small agriculture operations. But the district is defending its decision, claiming that smaller agriculture operations emit tons of pollution that the district must reduce to meet air quality goals. South Coast's rule is significant because the agriculture industry fears that other air districts may copy the rule, despite imposing significant cost burdens on growers, the industry...

TRUCKERS QUESTION LEGALITY OF ARB RULE TARGETING OUT-OF-STATE FLEETS

Trucking industry representatives say a draft air board rule to reduce diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions from privately operated trucks raises substantial legal and equity questions over efforts to regulate fleets based outside the state. Some critics of the proposal say the board is headed for another court battle, which would only serve to delay pollution reductions. Dubbed the "On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel In-Use Vehicle Emissions Control Measure," the Air Resources Board considers the rule a critical piece of its overarching...

ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY WRCB MUST BOOST CLIMATE CHANGE PREPARATION

The state water board must integrate climate change impacts into water quality planning, in view of a recent state report detailing pollution impacts expected from global warming, environmentalists argue. While a water board spokesman said the board does plan to integrate climate change planning into future scientific reviews, environmentalists maintain more immediate action is needed. Climate change may have a significant impact on water quality, particularly in the state's primary source of water, the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta...

CIWMB URGES SOUTH COAST ODOR RULE DELAY, CITING ENFORCEMENT CONCERNS

The waste board is urging the South Coast air district to delay advancing a novel interagency rule to crack down on odors from waste facilities. Waste board staff argues the rule's enforcement element will result in overlap by both agencies and must be fixed. Enforcement provisions in the rule are significant because the two boards, local enforcement agencies (LEAs) and industry representatives have raised concerns that an improperly applied rule could result in a barrage of overlapping fines. The South...

OIL INDUSTRY URGES GOVERNOR TO RETHINK FUEL RULES, POLICIES

The oil industry is pressing the Schwarzenegger Administration to re-examine environmental policies and regulations that the industry says are restricting fuel production in the state, claiming the requirements contribute to the state's notoriously high gasoline prices. The industry's call for action also reflects a larger battle against state efforts to mandate more alternative-fuel use and less petroleum consumption, which the industry views as misguided and likely to cause even greater energy shortages and price spikes. The industry's unusual press on...

FUTUREGEN SAYS CO2 LIABILITY MAY PLAY A ROLE IN SITE SELECTION

Days before it announces a shortlist of potential sites, the FutureGen Industrial Alliance -- which will decide which of seven states will house a $1 billion power plant that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide (CO2) -- says states that offer creative approaches to mitigating potential liability for CO2 releases could have a better chance of winning the project. Ken Humphreys, the alliance's technical support manager and also with Battelle, said at a July 19 press briefing that if two proposals...

OMB-BACKED STUDY SHOWS INCREASED RISK FROM PARTICULATE EXPOSURE

A new analysis of the health risks posed by particulate matter (PM) in air that former White House regulatory chief John Graham requested shows PM may be more harmful than previously thought, agency air officials say, which could support tightening the agency's proposed PM standard when finalized later this year. The evidence will almost certainly boost efforts by EPA science advisers, environmentalists and others who are urging Administrator Stephen Johnson to tighten the proposed standard. It could also complicate efforts...

DESPITE DELAY, EPA UNLIKELY TO ADDRESS MERCURY IN CEMENT MACT

Although EPA is allowing environmentalists more time to comment on a proposed rule revamping its court-rejected air toxics standard for Portland cement facilities, EPA and industry sources suggest the agency is unlikely to require the mercury controls activists are seeking, likely prompting new litigation to challenge the rule. The agency announced in the July 18 Federal Register that it was reopening the comment period until Aug. 1 on its maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard for Portland cement facilities to...

Administration Pushing 'Conservation' Bills Ahead Of Mid-Term Elections

The Bush administration is planning a legislative push after Congress returns from its August recess for a package of bills designed to highlight the administration's "cooperative conservation" approach to environmental protection, a push that will allow GOP candidates to cite their party's efforts to improve the environment. Deputy Interior Department (DOI) Secretary Lynn Scarlett told Inside EPA on July 18 that the administration planned to push four bills that underscore the administration's cooperative conservation approach, including EPA-backed legislation creating a...

FutureGen Says CO2 Liability May Play A Role In Site Selection

Days before it announces a shortlist of potential sites, the FutureGen Industrial Alliance -- which will decide which of seven states will house a $1 billion power plant that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide (CO2) -- says states that offer creative approaches to mitigating potential liability for CO2 releases could have a better chance of winning the project. Ken Humphreys, the alliance's technical support manager and also with Battelle, said at a July 19 press briefing that if two proposals...

New Health, Compliance Data Highlight EPA's Tough Call On Final PM Rule

New EPA data showing hundreds of counties would violate strict new fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards and a scientific study that says PM2.5 risks are dramatically higher than previously believed highlight the tough choice EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson is facing as he decides whether to tighten the agency's PM rules. New EPA modeling data supplied to Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) shows that hundreds of counties would violate EPA's proposed new PM standard, according to copies of the data obtained by...

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