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.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS JOIN FIGHT AGAINST EMINENT DOMAIN INITIATIVE

Environmentalists are joining opposition to an anti-eminent domain initiative they say may stop regulators from protecting air and water quality on private lands and may complicate brownfields redevelopment. The measure's backers are defending the initiative's ability to protect low-income landowners and argue environmentalists are teaming up with a "Goliath" of industry and government opposition. The initiative is expected to draw significant stakeholder concern as it gains momentum for the November 2006 election, both because of its significant support and because...

AIR RULES PROMPT EPA TO CONSIDER NEW WATER MANDATES FOR MERCURY

EPA may require several industry sectors to implement technology-based controls under the agency's effluent limitation guidelines (ELG) program to curb mercury discharges into waterbodies, in part because recent agency rules to reduce mercury emissions from power plants may cause more of the toxin to reach waters, according to internal EPA briefing documents obtained by Inside EPA . EPA is required under the Clean Water Act to review and potentially revise every two years the existing ELGs for industrial dischargers, as...

OMB MAY EXCLUDE EPA, OTHER AGENCY COMMENTS ON WHITE HOUSE RISK GUIDE

The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) may not accept EPA and other federal agencies' comments on its controversial proposed risk assessment guidance, in a move agency staff fear will prevent any discussion of the guidance's impact on EPA statutory requirements, current risk approaches and resource constraints. OMB is collecting comments from the public on its draft guidance until June 15, but EPA and other federal sources working on the comments say OMB has set no firm deadline...

EPA DELAYS PERC RISK STUDY FOR IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC UNCERTAINTY

Following recommendations from industry, EPA science chief George Gray has delayed the final risk review of the dry-cleaner solvent perchloroethylene (PERC) to implement for the first time his plans for broader consideration of scientific uncertainty in EPA risk assessments in the agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. But the delay could undermine an EPA air office effort to issue an air toxic rule for dry cleaning facilities that emit the solvent and spark opposition from staff scientists, agency sources...

HIGH COURT TO RESOLVE LENGTHY NSR DISPUTE OVER EMISSIONS 'INCREASES'

The Supreme Court's decision to review a controversial appellate ruling interpreting Clean Air Act new source review (NSR) rules could resolve a decades long-dispute over the level of emissions increases that triggers environmental control requirements for power plants and other industrial sources, according to legal experts. The court's decision to hear the case will also prompt a debate over which court should consider federal Clean Air Act regulations given conflicting decisions on the issue, with some experts saying it is...

WHITE HOUSE CALL TO REVIEW PM RULE SPARKS CONCERNS OVER ROLLBACKS

The White House Office of Management & Budget's (OMB) push for EPA to alter the regulatory analysis supporting its controversial rule to curb particulate matter (PM) emissions could lay the groundwork for industry pressure to relax the rule's requirements for individual sectors, some environmentalists say. OMB is telling EPA to reconsider its assumption that all types of particles are equally toxic when finalizing the rule's cost-benefit analysis. Some industry sources have argued the health impact of particles emitted from some...

EPA MULLS ISSUES AFFECTING WELL PERMIT SCHEME FOR UNDERGROUND CO2

EPA is weighing several factors in deciding how it might use a current regulatory system for underground injection wells to regulate underground carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration to address climate change, including whether large quantities of the gas and long storage times make the most stringent well permitting requirements inappropriate, according to an EPA official working on the issue. Bruce Kobelski of EPA's water office said at a recent conference that EPA faces several questions in deciding how to regulate the...

OTC FACES PUSH FOR OZONE DELAY IN BID TO EXPAND STRICT CAIR-PLUS PLAN

Midwestern and other states facing difficulties meeting EPA's 8-hour ozone standard are seeking to hinge their participation in a multi-state effort to require more stringent pollution controls than under EPA's clean air interstate rule (CAIR) for power plants, known as CAIR-plus, in exchange for additional time to meet the ozone standard in particularly polluted areas, state sources familiar with the discussions say. CAIR-plus is being spearheaded by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) -- a group representing Northeast and Mid-Atlantic air...

ACTIVISTS' FOCUS ON COSMETICS COULD BOOST BID FOR EPA NANOTECH RULES

Environmentalists and public health activists' growing focus on the risks posed by nanomaterials in cosmetics and other personal care products could bolster their bid for new EPA regulations governing the emerging technology, observers say. As a first step in the effort to force EPA and other federal agencies to develop new nanotechnology regulations, activists filed an administrative petition May 16 with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) calling for amendments to its regulatory framework to address products that contain nanomaterials,...

ENVIRONMENTALISTS' SUPPORT FOR GOP MODERATES DRAWS GRASSROOTS IRE

Environmentalists' recent endorsement of Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), a key swing vote on environmental issues, reflects a broader push by some activist groups to support GOP moderates sympathetic to their cause, but the strategy is also prompting harsh backlash from some grassroots activists. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) have both endorsed Chafee in his reelection bid, claiming in part that if Republicans maintain control of the Senate after the midterm elections, they would rather have...

EPA WEIGHS PROVIDING ADVANCED COAL PLANTS WITH NOX EMISSIONS RELIEF

EPA is weighing whether to temporarily free electric utilities proposing new power plants using advanced coal gasification technology from a requirement to install add-on emissions controls that are often employed to curb nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from more conventional facilities, according to agency and other sources. The deliberation is occurring as industry sources and environmentalists say a pending permit in Illinois could establish a precedent in favor of requiring the add-on emissions control technology, selective catalytic reduction (SCR), at new...

EPA CLASHES WITH STATES ON DESIGN OF CAIR EMISSIONS TRADING PLAN

EPA and some Northeast states are at odds over the amount of emissions that should constitute a pollution credit under the federal clean air interstate rule's (CAIR) cap-and-trade program, as the agency is trying to limit the flexibility of states that want to participate in the emissions trading program. At issue is state flexibility in determining how many tons of emissions are contained in a credit that facilities can buy or sell as they work to meet pollution caps set...

BACKERS HOPE BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL SHOWS SHIFT IN CLEAN AIR DEBATE

Environmentalists and other proponents of a newly revised bipartisan clean air bill say key changes to assuage activists and break the logjam over long-stalled multi-pollutant legislation show the debate is moving in their direction. They also see possible gains by Democrats in this year's midterm elections as boosting chances of enacting a bill including first-time nationwide controls on carbon dioxide (CO2). Despite the changes, the bill's main author, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), has failed to resolve concerns from other activists...

EPA TO INCLUDE CEMENT PLANTS, NON-UTILITIES IN NSR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS

EPA is targeting cement plants, glass manufacturers and acid producers for possible violations of new source review (NSR) requirements, along with a new focus on enforcing air toxics rules, as the agency continues to adjust its priorities away from NSR enforcement at electric utilities, a top EPA enforcement official told state officials this month. The shifting enforcement priorities come as EPA is reportedly scrutinizing industry compliance with air toxics rules under the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) program. But environmentalists...

HIGH COURT MAY RESOLVE LENGTHY NSR DISPUTE OVER EMISSIONS 'INCREASES'

The Supreme Court's decision this week to review the controversial appellate ruling on the proper interpretation of Clean Air Act new source review (NSR) rules sets the stage for possible resolution of a decades long-dispute over the scope of emissions increases that triggers environmental control requirements for power plants and other industrial sources, according to legal experts. However, the court's decision to hear the case will also prompt a debate over the proper court venue for interpreting federal Clean Air...

EPA AIMS TO ENSURE CREDIBILITY OF PROJECTS IN VOLUNTARY CLIMATE PLAN

Upcoming EPA guidelines for voluntary projects to reduce greenhouse gases will seek to set standards for ensuring these projects are credible by using a novel "performance-based" method that examines whether projects exceed the industry standard for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The guidelines, which will be released in coming months under the agency's voluntary Climate Leaders program, are expected to rely on a method for awarding emissions credits to projects that was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World...

DOE STUDY MAY BOLSTER ACTIVISTS' BID TO ASSESS CUMULATIVE CO2 IMPACTS

A Department of Energy (DOE) study on the environmental impacts of a proposed coal-to-fuel (CTF) plant could bolster environmentalists' efforts to require that federal agencies assess the cumulative impacts of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions stemming from federal actions, sources say. But DOE has set such a high threshold for mitigating CO2 impacts -- requiring that a project's contribution be substantial in comparison to global CO2 emissions -- that even if the department agrees to assess cumulative impacts, it would likely...

CALIFORNIA BILL ON GHG STANDARD FOR POWER PURCHASES HITS SNAGS

Lawmakers' efforts in California to enact a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions performance standard for purchases of electricity are hitting snags because of recent analyses that say the standard may prohibit some conventional in-state energy sources and drive up electricity prices. The bill is being closely watched by a broad group of stakeholders, including out-of-state coal power companies that currently supply about 20 percent of California's energy. The measure, SB 1368, requires any power provider in California, when entering long-term, "baseload"...

OIL INDUSTRY WARNS CALIFORNIA CLIMATE BILL MAY SLASH FUEL PRODUCTION

The petroleum industry is warning California lawmakers and the state's governor that proposed landmark legislation to set a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cap on industrial facilities may force refiners to slash gasoline and diesel production in the state, which would have a devastating impact on the state's economy and consumers. But legislative staffers and environmentalists backing the measure are characterizing the industry position as hyperbole intended to scare politicians and the public into opposing the legislation. The dispute is significant...

INDUSTRY'S CO2 INSURANCE PLAN SEEKS TO BLOCK STATE WASTE RULES

An oil and gas industry group is floating model legislation that would establish a first-time federal insurance program for the risks associated with underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) to combat global warming, which restricts the insurance to states that do not strictly regulate CO2 as a waste. The proposal also addresses how to regulate the practice of CO2 storage -- a system neither state nor federal regulators have yet created -- by recommending a federal standard for CO2 storage...

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