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.

STATES, ACTIVISTS CONCERNED ABOUT EPA PUSH FOR 'PREDICTIVE MONITORS'

State air regulators and environmentalists are concerned about EPA proposals that could increase the use of what are known as predictive emission monitoring systems (PEMS), which rely on measuring various inputs to determine a facility's emissions rather than monitoring what is actually coming out of a smokestack. These groups worry that such a system will result in less transparent emissions monitoring, hampering enforcement and possibly leading to worse air pollution that is difficult to detect. EPA is in the midst...

EXPERTS QUESTION DARPA MODEL FOR NEW CLIMATE RESEARCH AGENCY

Participants at a recent Washington roundtable are warning of potentially significant obstacles to creating an Energy Department research and development program aimed at boosting technological advances to address climate change and other energy-related issues akin to the much-heralded Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) -- DOD's long-term research branch. DARPA, created by the U.S. government in response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, is DOD's long-term research arm that spawned numerous innovations including the technological framework for the Internet...

Labor, Industry Gear Up To Fight Stringent State Mercury Regulations

The utility industry is gearing up to fight a growing number of state efforts to control mercury emissions after a group of state and local authorities announced a model mercury rule that abandons the cap-and-trade approach in EPA's controversial mercury rule and requires far more stringent emissions cuts, several sources say. Mine workers are already urging coal-rich Pennsylvania to delay developing new rules for combating mercury emissions from power plants until after the first phase of EPA's rule is complete,...

DRAFT RADIATION GUIDE MAY BOOST PRESSURE TO EASE EPA CANCER LIMITS

A draft EPA guide recommending acceptable radiation exposure levels for the general public could help industry critics of the stringent cancer risk levels that drive protection standards for chemical tolerances, waste cleanups and other agency programs argue for weaker limits, according to EPA and other sources opposed to the guide. Opponents of the guidance maintain that the limits prescribed in the draft document -- which is currently undergoing interagency review -- could set a precedent encouraging relaxation of current radiation...

STATES TO PROPOSE EPA FUNDING CUTS TO MAKE ROOM FOR CORE PROGRAMS

State environmental officials are crafting a report that will detail which EPA programs should be downsized or eliminated in order to increase funding for states and "core agency programs," these officials say. In addition, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) is telling EPA that the agency needs to incorporate budget needs into its ongoing talks with state leaders on EPA's programmatic goals for the next five years. In a Nov. 8 letter to EPA Chief Financial Officer Lyons Gray,...

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS STANDING ISSUE IN CHALLENGE TO EPA REGULATION

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear a case on the responsibility of petitioners to establish standing -- or the legal right to sue -- when they challenge EPA and other agency actions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is the court that hears challenges to many agency regulations. While the case could result in weaker requirements for plaintiffs to establish standing, an EPA source says the government does not expect...

EPA Faces Industry Push To Loosen New Air Toxics Rules On Dry Cleaners

The White House and EPA are facing last-minute pressure from industry officials to revise a long-awaited proposed air toxics rule that is expected to ban the construction of new dry cleaners in residential buildings, among other strict mandates, as industry is disputing an EPA analysis that would help justify the proposal, sources familiar with the talks say. In private meetings held recently with EPA and the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB), industry officials have criticized an internal...

EPA QUERIES 'MINOR SOURCE' PERMITS FOR COAL-FIRED ETHANOL PLANTS

EPA officials and environmentalists are raising concerns with plans by Midwestern states to permit a growing number of coal-fired ethanol plants as "minor" emissions sources not subject to federal rules, saying the plants' emissions may exceed thresholds for minor sources, which could prompt future agency enforcement actions. Many ethanol manufacturers are expanding their operations to meet growing demand for the renewable fuel due to a series of factors, including a growing number of state bans on methyl tertiary butyl ether...

LABOR CALL TO DELAY STATE MERCURY RULE COULD PRESAGE INDUSTRY PUSH

Mine workers are urging coal-rich Pennsylvania to delay developing new rules for combating mercury emissions from power plants until after the first phase of EPA's controversial mercury rule is complete, an argument that industry sources say could foreshadow how companies fight a growing number of state efforts to control the toxin. A host of states have grown frustrated by EPA's cap-and-trade rule to control mercury emissions -- which calls for a 70 percent reduction after 2018 -- and state officials...

ARB, INDUSTRY SEEK EPA ANSWERS ON FUEL-OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS

Air board officials are asking U.S. EPA to clarify whether California refiners can sell non-oxygenated gasoline in nonattainment areas of the state, or whether the agency plans a rule to officially lift the oxygen requirement that was eliminated by the energy bill in August. The issue is significant to state air officials, who expect to see some decreases in certain pollutant emissions with the reduction of ethanol fuel blends, and industry, which may choose to produce more non-oxygenated gasoline depending...

JUDGE BLASTS STATE OVER PESTICIDE EMISSION-REDUCTION PLAN

A U.S. district court judge blasted Cal/EPA officials this week over an "incomprehensible" state implementation plan (SIP) at the center of a key lawsuit between activists and the pesticides department over the department's role in reducing pesticide emissions. If environmentalists prevail, the department could be required to implement regulations to further reduce ozone-forming compounds from pesticide emissions in many areas of the state. The lawsuit pits the Center for Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE) against the Department of Pesticide...

SOUTH COAST WEIGHS IMPLICATIONS OF BUMPING UP ATTAINMENT STATUS

South Coast air district officials are considering the implications of voluntarily bumping up the region's nonattainment classification to "extreme" under the federal eight-hour ozone standard, which would provide more rulemaking flexibility and possibly three more years to achieve air quality standards. However, the change may also define many more businesses as major sources, subjecting them to more stringent pollution control and offset requirements. The implications remain unclear, and district officials are likely to further explore the issue early next year,...

ARB PROGRAM TO USE ETHANOL-85 IN FFVS MAY EXPAND FUEL'S AVAILABILITY

Air board officials are advancing a plan to help supply 85% ethanol fuel (E-85) in selected state flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) in Sacramento and the Central Valley. Ethanol industry sources say they hope the program provides a gateway to future E-85 availability to the general public and possibly eventual proposals by the board to increase ethanol in reformulated gasoline statewide. Air Resources Board staff had previously posted on the board website a notice for a Nov. 10 workshop in Sacramento on...

OIL INDUSTRY SAYS SOUTH COAST FLARE RULE FACES RELAXATION

Only days after the South Coast air district touted new landmark crackdowns on refinery flaring, oil industry representatives say a quarterly review of the rules is likely to result in significant relaxation to protect the safety of facility workers. Such a scenario would not please environmentalists and community groups, which strongly support new amendments to the rule that set strict monitoring requirements and daily emission limits. Flaring, the emitting of flames from refinery stacks, is used as a safety device...

ARB: SAN JOAQUIN FAILING TO APPLY BACT, CUT PERMIT BACKLOG

The San Joaquin Valley air district is failing to require some stationary sources to meet best available control technology (BACT) and must reduce a mammoth backlog of permit applications for a variety of industrial applications, according to a state air board audit released this week. The district is required to submit an "action" plan to the state board within 90 days to show how it will improve its programs, according to the audit. In response, a district official said the...

ARB MAY RESIST DRY CLEANING PERC PHASEOUT BASED ON VOC EMISSIONS

Air board staff may avoid proposing a phaseout of the chemical perchloroethylene (perc) when floating later this month changes to its dry cleaning air toxic control measure (ATCM), based in part on concerns that replacement chemicals will increase volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, according to sources. Such a decision would mark a weaker stance on perc than the one taken by the South Coast air district, which in 2002 became the first regulatory agency in the nation to approve a...

SHIPPING INDUSTRY DOWNPLAYS IMPACT OF L.A. AIR CHIEF'S INITIATIVE

The shipping industry is downplaying the potential impacts of a new initiative by the South Coast air district's chairman to press U.S. EPA to establish more stringent emission standards for marine vessels, claiming that Congress and EPA are already moving in that direction. The South Coast move signals another push from local and state officials to pressure EPA to step up efforts to change international maritime rules affecting marine vessels. At a Nov. 4 South Coast air district board meeting,...

CIWMB ADVANCES PIVOTAL CONVERSION TECHNOLOGY EMISSIONS STUDY

Seeking data to better understand the impact of conversion technologies on the environment, the waste board this week approved nearly a half million dollars for a study that will for the first time test emissions from two types of processes. The study is significant because the Legislature has stated it needs more data from the board on conversion technology emissions before giving the industry the green light to expand in the state. Environmentalists maintain that the waste-to-energy processes do more...

EPA'S 'NO-ENFORCEMENT' PLAN FOR HURRICANE DEBRIS BACKS SAB CALL

EPA's enforcement office has set strict conditions for open burning of asbestos-laden wastes along Louisiana's Gulf Coast in response to concerns raised by the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB). The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is seeking permission for open burning of damaged buildings that contain asbestos as a way to reduce the amount of debris that must be disposed of in the state's limited landfills. In response, EPA's enforcement office late last month decided to attach a number...

RENEWED MASSACHUSETTS SUPPORT MAY BOLSTER NORTHEAST CLIMATE PLAN

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is signaling he will likely back a groundbreaking regional climate change plan, dispelling rumors that he may pull out of the effort amid lingering concerns over its economic impact. Observers close to the issue recently questioned whether Romney, a potential Republican presidential contender, would back away from the proposal, after he raised concerns in private meetings about its impact on electricity prices . But this week, Romney stated publicly that he supports the proposal, although...

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