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.

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 Democrats and environmentalists...

EPA LAUNCHES INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS 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. 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 management, hiring and training...

SAB BACKING FOR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN COULD PROMPT MAJOR EPA REFORMS

EPA's science advisers have drafted sweeping recommendations to help the agency meet new long-term "sustainability" goals that, if implemented, could prompt a major overhaul of agency management, hiring and training practices, as well as long-standing risk assessment practices that underlie most of the agency's policy decisions. EPA's Office of Research & Development (ORD) last spring asked the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB) to review a draft research strategy intended to help the agency incorporate long-term sustainability -- which is generally...

STATES SEE TREND OF 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...

EPA RULING FAILS TO CLARIFY CRITERIA FOR FLEXIBLE STATE ENFORCEMENT

EPA's recent decision allowing Massachusetts to redirect federal enforcement money towards an innovative enforcement program may not provide guidance to other states seeking similar flexibility, because the decision does not provide criteria for determining whether or how innovative efforts are considered equivalent to traditional enforcement initiatives, state sources say. Region I Administrator Robert Varney last month issued a letter to Massachusetts environment chief Robert Golledge explaining the agency's earlier decision -- recommended by enforcement chief Granta Nakayama -- allowing Massachusetts...

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 last month in Environmental Defense, et al. v. Duke Energy Corp ., says...

DEMOCRATS RETREAT ON CREDIT TRADING IN CLIMATE BILL AMENDMENTS

Democratic leaders in the Legislature are pursuing amendments to a 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 the Schwarzenegger Administration through Cal/EPA. Other key amendments offered by Cal/EPA last month are also likely to be rejected by the Democrats, according to sources. Meanwhile, draft amendments to the legislation -- AB 32 (Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, and Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura...

AIR DISTRICTS, INDUSTRY PRESS ARB TO RELAX CHROME-PLATING RULE

Air districts are joining industry organizations in pressing air board staff to relax proposed amendments to a hexavalent chrome airborne toxic control measure (ATCM), arguing the plan overestimates cancer risk and would impose draconian emission cuts on businesses with miniscule public health benefits. But board staffers say the emission reductions are vital to protecting sensitive populations and lower-income communities, where cancer risks are unacceptably high. At issue are proposed amendments to ARB's ATCM for "Chromium Plating and Chromic Acid Anodizing...

STAKEHOLDERS CLASH OVER HOT SPOTS EMISSIONS REPORTING RULES

Industry groups say the air board must retool draft revisions to its Air Toxics Hot Spots program to provide specific direction to air districts on the types of emissions facilities must report. But the air districts are supporting the board's current proposal, which allows them the flexibility to enforce stringent reporting requirements for various air toxic releases. Changes to the hot spots program are significant because the board and the public rely on the program to monitor facility emissions and...

NEW BACKING FOR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN COULD PROMPT MAJOR EPA REFORMS

U.S. EPA's science advisers have drafted sweeping recommendations to help the agency meet its new long-term "sustainability" goals that, if implemented, could prompt a major overhaul of agency management, hiring and training practices, as well as long-standing risk assessment practices that underlie most of the agency's policy decisions. EPA's Office of Research & Development (ORD) last spring asked the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to review a draft research strategy intended to help the agency incorporate long-term sustainability -- which is...

EPA RULING FAILS TO CLARIFY CRITERIA FOR FLEXIBLE STATE ENFORCEMENT

EPA's recent decision allowing Massachusetts to redirect federal enforcement money towards an innovative enforcement program may not provide guidance to other states seeking similar flexibility, because the decision does not provide criteria for determining whether or how innovative efforts are considered equivalent to traditional enforcement initiatives, state sources say. Region I Administrator Robert Varney last month issued a letter to Massachusetts environment chief Robert Golledge explaining the agency's earlier decision -- recommended by enforcement chief Granta Nakayama -- allowing Massachusetts...

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. EPA...

Narrowed Appellate Rules On 'Standing' May Still Deter Citizen Suits

The appellate court that hears direct appeals of EPA regulations has softened a plan to require parties not directly regulated by the rule under review to prove their standing to sue, although the court's final rule may still discourage citizen suits by requiring any party whose standing is not apparent to provide evidence of standing. One attorney who is an expert on citizen suit cases says the new requirements could deter citizen and environmental groups from filing litigation because "it's...

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's (OMB), may become the third in a trio of recent EPA-related nominations that would have to be a recess appointment 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 immediately criticized by...

Settlement Requires New PM Measurements Amid Debate Over Rules

Environmentalists have reached a settlement with a Pennsylvania power plant that requires monitoring and limits for what is known as "condensable" particulate matter (PM), a form of the pollutant that many companies do not track because they contend EPA has not developed a reliable test method. The settlement comes as environmentalists and state officials are pressing EPA to require limits on condensable PM as part of pending rules to implement a new fine particle standard. They argue that older methods...

EPA Agrees To Consider Mercury Controls In Portland Cement MACT

EPA is committing to give further consideration to requiring mercury controls in its maximum achievable control technology (MACT) proposal for Portland cement kilns -- which manufacture cement and concrete -- by signing a July 25 document to be submitted to a federal court that outlines the obligations, despite the agency's earlier proposed version of the rule that rejects mercury-specific control technology as too costly. Industry will continue to oppose mercury controls as well as a possible ban on the use...

EPA High Court Brief Suggests Conflicting Positions On NSR Emissions 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 earlier this month in Environmental Defense, et al. v. Duke Energy Corp...

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 -- an admission that suggests 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 earlier said they would continue...

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...

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