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 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...

TIGHT DEADLINES FOR AREA SOURCE TOXIC RULES PROMPT AGENCY CONCERN

EPA faces a series of tight court-ordered deadlines to issue 50 rules regulating "area sources" of air toxics by 2009 at the latest, prompting concern from the agency that it will not be able to meet the deadlines, along with suggestions that EPA may pursue innovative approaches for setting the standards. 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...

HOUSE BILL TO IMPLEMENT SHIP EMISSIONS TREATY LIMITS EPA INVOLVEMENT

House legislation to implement an international treaty creating standards for reducing air pollution from ocean-going ships dramatically reduces EPA's role compared to earlier draft language that the Bush administration sent to Congress, activists and industry sources say. Although an amendment approved during the bill's recent markup preserves EPA's authority to craft the regulations that will implement the treaty's emissions limits, the bill gives the agency no involvement in enforcing the limits nor any power to set standards that go beyond...

STATES SAY EPA AIRCRAFT RULE WOULD UNDERCUT AIR QUALITY MANDATES

State and local air regulators have filed a legal brief arguing that 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 and 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...

NEW LAWSUIT MAY BE TEST CASE FOR CONTROVERSIAL TITLE V PERMIT RULING

Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit that could become a test case over how EPA responds to a controversial appeals court decision last year, which held the agency and states must issue Title V permits that reflect pending new source review (NSR) and other Clean Air Act enforcement actions. The new lawsuit is also the latest salvo in a long-standing battle over alleged NSR violations at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plant, after a court struck down EPA enforcement actions...

CALIFORNIA RAISES NEW CONCERN OVER IMPACT OF SUPREME COURT CO2 CASE

California officials are raising new concerns about the possible impact of the Supreme Court's upcoming decision on EPA's authority to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) on the state's efforts to regulate CO2 emissions from automobiles. These concerns may indicate an unfavorable high court ruling could block their regulatory effort, which is already facing a separate industry challenge. After the high court agreed to hear Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. v. EPA , California air officials first said they would continue to...

DEMOCRATS RETREAT ON CREDIT TRADING IN CLIMATE BILL AMENDMENTS

Democratic leaders in the California legislature are pursuing amendments to a state climate change bill that de-emphasize the potential for emission reduction credit-trading schemes, a move that flies in the face of proposed modifications being sought by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) through the California EPA (Cal/EPA). Meanwhile, Democrats have drafted amendments to the legislation, AB 32, calling for a study of other pollutants as well as potential new crackdowns on transportation sector emissions. These amendments are expected to be approved...

GROUPS TO PRESS EPA TO STRENGTHEN GLOBAL MERCURY DECLARATION

Environmentalists and health groups are slated to urge EPA and other sponsors of an upcoming international conference on mercury to strengthen a draft declaration on the socioeconomic consequences of mercury pollution, which they call unacceptable because it appears to endorse global use of cap-and-trade systems to control the toxin and highlights scientific uncertainties rather than immediate steps to curb mercury exposure. The Global Zero Mercury Group -- which includes the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation and other...

STUDY CORRELATES MERCURY AIR EMISSIONS WITH POWER PLANT OPERATIONS

A new study shows that air emissions of mercury fluctuate depending on power plant activity, in a finding that some suggest will pressure EPA to strengthen its controversial clean air mercury rule (CAMR), which allows utilities to buy credits rather than cut mercury emissions. The study, Recent Trends in Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the Northeast United States, which was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research , suggests that mercury controls at power plants could dramatically reduce mercury air emissions,...

ILLINOIS SEEKS INDUSTRY PACTS TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR MERCURY CONTROLS

Illinois is seeking agreements with a series of power companies to implement strict mercury emissions cuts, which observers say could remove a significant obstacle to the approval of a statewide rulemaking to control the air toxic. The state's efforts have been encouraged by a new multi-pollutant emissions agreement with the energy company Ameren, which could be a model for other pacts with industry. The major coal state is seeking to implement limits on mercury and other pollutants beyond requirements in...

EPA STAFF OZONE PROPOSALS MAY FALL SHORT OF CALIFORNIA STANDARD

Recent details on draft EPA staff proposals for a new ambient ozone standard suggest federal controls could remain weaker than landmark ozone standards adopted this year in California, prompting criticism from environmentalists who are citing new studies linking ozone exposure to mortality. The emerging debate over a new national ambient air quality standard for ozone comes as the agency is already mired in controversy over a possible new particulate matter standard, with a final decision expected later this year (...

OMB NOMINEE MAY COMPLETE TRIO OF POTENTIAL BUSH RECESS APPOINTEES

Susan Dudley, President Bush's controversial nominee to head the regulatory arm of the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB), may become the third in a trio of recent EPA-related nominees whom President Bush would have to appoint during a congressional recess because Democrats would likely seek to block her Senate confirmation, sources say. President Bush announced his intention to nominate Dudley to head OMB's Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on July 31, and the nomination was...

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...

States Say EPA Aircraft Rule Would Undercut Air Quality Mandates

State and local air regulators have filed a legal brief arguing that 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 and 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...

Plan To Sign Mercury Switch Deal Hints At Resolution Of Stakeholder Concerns

The plan to sign a deal this week under which the auto and steel industries agree to fund a program for removing mercury-containing switches from cars destined for recycling suggests that criticisms about the adequacy of the $4 million fund and other concerns have been resolved. Several sources tracking the issue say EPA and a host of stakeholders --- which include the recycling industry and environmental groups --- will sign an agreement Aug. 11 establishing a fund to pay for...

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 the situation may worsen in fiscal year 2007. Cuts are expected to a host of state programs, and EPA is poised...

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. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com . 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...

BAR ASSOCIATION SAYS EPA HAS ADEQUATE POWER TO REGULATE NANOTECH

The American Bar Association (ABA) says EPA has the authority to regulate nanotechnology under current toxics and pesticide laws, the first statement the powerful legal group has offered on regulating the emerging field amid conflicting interpretations of current legal authority from industry, environmentalists and other stakeholders. Despite its interpretation of current legal authority, the ABA is cautioning that EPA must consider further research on nanotechnology and says current science may not be advanced enough to measure the materials or their...

OMB NOMINEE MAY COMPLETE TRIO OF POTENTIAL BUSH RECESS APPOINTEES

Susan Dudley, President Bush's controversial nominee to head the regulatory arm of the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB), may become the third in a trio of recent EPA-related nominees who President Bush would have to appoint during a congressional recess because Democrats would likely seek to block her Senate confirmation, sources say. President Bush announced his intention to nominate Dudley to head OMB's Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on July 31, and the nomination was...

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...

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