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.

GROUPS SEEK BETTER OVERSIGHT OF ARB VEHICLE-SCRAPPAGE PROGRAM

A coalition of environmental and industry groups is calling on Cal/EPA to form a task force to review the air board's voluntary accelerated vehicle retirement (VAVR), or car-scrappage, program, claiming there is currently a lack of coordinated communication between air districts, the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), and the air board in evaluating the program. The proposed task force may spark substantial changes to the VAVR program, which some stakeholders believe is one of the state's best programs to achieve...

STATES SAY EPA AIRCRAFT RULE WOULD UNDERCUT AIR QUALITY MANDATES

State and local air regulators have filed a legal brief arguing U.S. EPA's final rule setting aircraft engine emission standards could make it difficult for areas to meet the agency's national ambient air quality standards. The State & Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (STAPPA/ALAPCO) is suing EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking review of the agency's rule requiring nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions from aircraft engines. In...

GLOBAL WARMING FINDINGS EMERGE AS NEW WEAPON AGAINST LNG PROJECTS

Environmentalists opposed to onshore and offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals are adding global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts to arguments aimed at convincing state officials to reject the projects. The emerging outlook may increase pressure on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to justify his anticipated support of at least one California LNG project, especially in light of the administration's highly publicized actions to reduce GHG emissions, sources said. A climate change expert employed by environmental attorneys concluded in a recent report...

STATES QUESTION IMPACT OF NEW MERCURY SWITCH DEAL ON LOCAL PROGRAMS

States such as Washington are questioning whether a $4 million fund -- which will be created through a deal numerous stakeholders are slated to sign this week -- will allow the auto and steel industries to pay $2 million each for removing mercury-containing switches from cars destined for recycling, instead of complying with what states consider more rigorous state switch removal programs. Several sources tracking the issue say EPA and a host of stakeholders -- including the recycling industry and...

LIEBERMAN PRIMARY LOSS MAY MEAN WEAKER SENATE ON ENVIRONMENT

Sen. Joseph Lieberman's (D-CT) Aug. 8 primary defeat to political newcomer Ned Lamont could mean the Senate may lose one of its environmental champions should Lieberman be pressured to drop his run as an independent or lose the race in November, sources following the campaign say. Lieberman, a three-term senator who has long served on the Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee, has focused in recent years on pursuing bipartisan climate change legislation with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and has...

MORE STATES SEEN RETURNING ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS TO EPA CONTROL

State officials say recent decisions by Oregon and Montana to return environmental programs to EPA are the beginning of a trend that could worsen significantly in the coming year, as states face increasing federal regulatory requirements and diminishing financial support to implement those requirements. One state official says, "There are a lot of other states in this situation," and it may worsen in fiscal year 2007. Cuts are expected to a host of state programs, and EPA is poised to...

ACTIVISTS CITE OFFSETS IN URGING STATES, CITIES TO AVOID CLIMATE EXCHANGE

As two business groups launch an effort to standardize how climate trading markets use emissions offset credits, environmentalists are urging states and cities not to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) -- the nation's first voluntary carbon trading market -- in part because of CCX offset rules. Additionally, environmentalists will urge the business groups to model their offset standards on the most rigorous protocol developed to date. An Aug. 1 letter organized by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and...

TIGHT DEADLINES FOR AREA SOURCE RULES MAY SPUR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES

Due to concerns that EPA faces tight court-ordered deadlines to issue 50 regulations for "area sources" of air toxics by 2009 at the latest, the agency may pursue innovative approaches for setting the standards that include issuing fewer rules for multiple source categories rather than source category-specific rules. Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in an Aug. 2 opinion in Sierra Club v. EPA that the agency failed to perform its duty...

EPA LAUNCHES INTERNAL TALKS TO SHAPE SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES

EPA has launched a major, yearlong push to develop a path forward for sustainability, the leading edge of the agency's efforts to promote green chemistry, smart growth and other programs that will affect a number of different industries in ways that go beyond traditional regulation, including risk management practices. The agency's push comes as EPA's science advisers have drafted sweeping recommendations to help officials meet its new long-term "sustainability" goals that, if implemented, could prompt a major overhaul of agency...

SAB DRAFT REPORT POINTS TO EPA'S FUTURE AS SUSTAINABILITY LEADER

A recent draft document on implementing sustainability research from EPA's science advisers highlights the panel's call for a major overhaul of the agency's management structure and the need to fundamentally change the nature of the agency's environmental protection programs. The panel also calls on EPA to take a leadership role in defining sustainability in ways that will shape the movement within the government and in private industry. If accepted, the changes to EPA's sustainability research plan recommended in the draft...

EPA SUSTAINABILITY CHIEF OUTLINES MAJOR REFORM CHALLENGES

As EPA moves toward making sustainability a central decision-making concept throughout the agency, its leading policy point person on sustainable development says the agency faces significant challenges in both its research role and in coordinating with diverse federal agencies, businesses and other groups. According to EPA's first-ever director for sustainable development, Alan Hecht, the agency must pursue at least three major tasks in promoting its sustainability agenda. EPA must develop and implement a research strategy to show what is effective...

BUDGET CONCERNS MAY LIMIT EPA PLAN TO ADOPT SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH

As EPA's Office of Research & Development (ORD) launches a push to implement key sustainability goals -- which could lead to an overhaul of management and regulatory practices -- the agency will likely face budget shortfalls making it difficult to fully implement the strategy, agency staff and science advisers say. A subcommittee of EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) appears poised to issue positive recommendations on ORD's Sustainability Research Strategy , which builds on and supports the agency's pollution prevention and...

New EPA Concerns May Help Activists Fight Oil And Gas Projects

A coalition of environmental groups is renewing an administrative challenge to a proposal to significantly expand oil and gas drilling in Wyoming, citing new EPA correspondence they say exposes as deeply flawed efforts by the Interior Department to downplay potential air pollution increases from the proposed expansion. The challenge comes amid growing concern over the impact of oil and gas development on Western air quality, including an EPA letter to a key Senate lawmaker citing the potential impact on Denver...

EPA To Expand Energy Star For Builders To Improve Indoor Air Quality

EPA is conducting a pilot project to expand its highly touted Energy Star program to include indoor air quality ratings for home builders, in a move that is expected to bolster opportunities for a variety of businesses, including those that will inspect and certify the new voluntary standards, sources say. The expansion of EPA's voluntary energy efficiency program has drawn increasing attention and participation because of pressure on home owners and industries to reduce electricity use to cut costs and...

Lieberman Primary Loss May Mean Weaker Senate On Environment

Sen. Joseph Lieberman's (D-CT) Aug. 8 primary defeat to political newcomer Ned Lamont could mean the Senate may lose one of its environmental champions should Lieberman be pressured to drop his run as an independent or lose the race in November, sources following the campaign say. Lieberman, a three-term senator who has long served on the Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee, has focused in recent years on pursuing bipartisan climate change legislation with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and has...

KEY INDUSTRY GROUPS SPLIT ON ACCEPTABILITY OF NEW COARSE PM STANDARD

As EPA nears a final decision on a new coarse particulate matter (PM) standard, key industry sectors facing possible emissions limits are divided over what standard they might accept should the agency to decide to pursue a new PM rule, industry sources and EPA documents say. While many industry groups are urging EPA in 11th-hour lobbying to refrain from setting a new coarse PM standard, EPA documents and industry sources say beef producers and mining operations are taking a hard...

EPA HIGH COURT BRIEF SUGGESTS CONFLICTING POSITIONS ON NSR TEST

EPA has filed a brief with the Supreme Court criticizing a lower court's interpretation of how to measure emissions increases under the new source review (NSR) program, despite proposing a rule earlier this year that adopts the lower court's approach. How the agency measures emissions increases is significant because NSR requires facilities to install pollution controls when modifications result in an emissions increase. EPA's amicus brief, filed July 21 in Environmental Defense, et al. v. Duke Energy Corp ., says...

INDUSTRY SEEKS FIRST-TIME DELETION OF CRITERIA POLLUTANT FROM AIR ACT

An industry group has filed an unprecedented request for EPA to delete lead as one of the six key national air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act's health-based standards. Industry argues that lead emissions have been cut so much that the metal no longer needs to be regulated stringently. Additionally, industry notes that strict rules governing lead emissions from battery makers and secondary smelters -- two of the few remaining sources of lead -- are stringent enough that EPA...

NEW EFFICIENCY PLAN MAY YIELD CONTROVERSY DESPITE WIDE SUPPORT

States are slated to pursue a host of new energy efficiency programs modeled after a new plan backed by EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE), but the initiatives may prompt controversy despite widespread endorsement from states and businesses, observers say. The July 31 report, the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (NAPEE) -- produced through an unusual collaboration of industry groups, state regulators and environmentalists -- calls for state utility regulators to pursue a complex policy change, known as...

DOE APPLIANCE STANDARD PROMPTS CONTROVERSY OVER EFFICIENCY LEVELS

The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed new energy conservation standards for utility distribution transformers, prompting concern from energy efficiency advocates who favor a much more stringent proposal. Critics also fear the proposal sets a bad precedent for future DOE appliance standards. "This is the first standard coming out of DOE since President Bush took office, and it's extraordinarily weak," one efficiency advocate charges. The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy issued an Aug. 4 Federal Register notice...

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