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.

Cal/EPA Chief Brushes Off Industry Criticisms Of Climate Change Report

California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Secretary Alan Lloyd is acknowledging industry criticisms that the agency's recent report on the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions may be incomplete, but nevertheless says the report is adequate to advance recommendations for action to the legislature and governor. Major industry groups last week accused Cal/EPA of failing to provide proper transparency and peer review of its economic impact analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction recommendations, warning that decision-makers should not rely on shaky...

NEW WIND RESEARCH MAY FURTHER DELAY EPA'S VAPOR INTRUSION GUIDE

The upcoming release of new findings on how wind can affect indoor air pollution caused by groundwater and soil contaminants, a phenomenon known as vapor intrusion, may further complicate EPA efforts to develop guidance for determining public health risks. Industry has long opposed efforts by EPA and states to provide guidance on vapor intrusion, and the new findings could further delay the agency's release of an updated guide. The research also comes as EPA scientists are raising new concerns over...

PROPERTY CONCERNS DELAY EPA CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS PLANS IN GULF

Local opposition and Louisiana private property laws are keeping EPA officials from conducting first-time tests for burning construction debris from last year's hurricanes in mobile incinerators -- testing agency officials say could help in developing a new policy for using the technology expected later this year. Officials from the agency's solid waste and research and development offices say the tests would have helped provide EPA with data on whether the incinerators -- known as air curtain destructors (ACD) -- are...

EPA CALL FOR C-8 EMISSIONS CUTS COULD SHIFT FOCUS AWAY FROM DUPONT

EPA's recent call for DuPont and other manufacturers to cut emissions of C-8 -- a processing agent used to make common consumer products -- could shift the focus away from the U.S. chemical giant to the seven other companies that also produce similar compounds, one industry source says. Company officials indicated after EPA's announcement that they were all but complying with EPA's call to cut emissions of the compound by 95 percent by 2010. The announcement comes as the agency's...

INDUSTRY PUSHING EPA TO REJECT NO SAFE LEAD EXPOSURE LEVEL FINDING

Industry is urging EPA to reject findings in a draft criteria document for lead that the metal causes harm in humans whose blood-lead levels are nearly 10 times lower than what is currently considered acceptable. Industry fears that unless EPA rejects the draft finding that there is no safe blood-lead level, the agency will tighten its ambient air quality standard for the metal. The criteria document comes as EPA is considering tightening the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for...

LAWMAKERS TO SEEK AID FOR HURRICANE, OTHER VICTIMS IN ASBESTOS BILL

As lawmakers renew debate in early February over Congress' controversial asbestos compensation legislation, several senators will likely seek to expand eligibility for compensation under the bill's $140 billion trust fund to individuals affected by the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes and other asbestos-exposure victims, according to congressional and other sources tracking the bill. But any efforts to expand compensation under the controversial trust fund will likely face strong opposition from some lawmakers, who have already raised concerns about providing special eligibility...

Accord Signals Incremental Step In Securing Stricter CAFO Mandates

A recent settlement between environmentalists and a large pork producer that requires hundreds of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to minimize polluted runoff signals modest progress in activists' protracted battle to secure stricter pollution controls for CAFOs, according to sources familiar with the pact. The pact is among the first in the nation to require CAFOs to implement additional environmental protection requirements, and activists may seek similar agreements in other areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, several environmentalists say. But...

Industry Proposal May Block State Air Rules On Paint VOC Emissions

Paint and coatings industry representatives are pushing EPA to establish a nationwide method that states would use to calculate volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from paints and coatings, prompting criticism that the proposal could block individual states from setting strict regulations on these sources to control ozone. The proposal is the latest move in a controversy over how EPA should guide states in measuring paint and coating emissions -- a decision that directly affects how stringent state and federal controls...

UTILITIES URGE NORTHEAST STATES TO ALTER APPROACH IN EMISSIONS RULE

LINTHICUM, MD -- Utility industry officials are urging northeast states to abandon a pending model rule to require region-wide power plant emission cuts, and instead only issue controls on a case-by-case basis for individual plants if federal controls prove insufficient for reducing pollution. At a Jan. 24 meeting here of the Ozone Transport Commission's (OTC) control strategy committee, air officials announced a revised strategy for reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from utilities, beyond levels mandated in...

INDUSTRY PROPOSAL MAY BLOCK STATE AIR RULES ON PAINT VOC EMISSIONS

Paint and coatings industry representatives are pushing EPA to establish a nationwide method that states would use to calculate volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from paints and coatings, prompting criticism that the proposal could block individual states from setting strict regulations on these sources to control ozone. The proposal is the latest move in a controversy over how EPA should guide states in measuring paint and coating emissions -- a decision that directly affects how stringent state and federal controls...

AIR, WATER ISSUES SURFACE IN LAWMAKERS' BOND PROPOSAL REVIEWS

Environmental review exemptions for flood control and road projects, new truck fees to improve air quality and global warming impacts from water use decisions headed up a list of lawmaker concerns this week at kickoff hearings over the governor's infrastructure bond proposals. The infrastructure bonds have become the focus of this legislative year because of their massive dollar amounts and the high levels of indebtedness they would create, and because of the sweeping nature of the programs they would fund...

INDUSTRY RIPS LACK OF PEER REVIEW, TRANSPARENCY OF CLIMATE COST STUDY

Major industry groups this week charged Cal/EPA has failed to provide proper transparency and peer review of its economic impact analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction recommendations, warning that decision-makers cannot rely on shaky conclusions to back specific rules. Cal/EPA Secretary Alan Lloyd acknowledged that the analysis is incomplete, but said it is nonetheless adequate to advance recommendations for action to the Legislature and governor. The "macroeconomic analysis" by Cal/EPA is considered critical not only to industry but to other...

GROUPS PRESS GOVERNOR TO IMPLEMENT SMOG CHECK TEST COMPONENT

Several major environmental groups are urging the governor to order the implementation of an overdue fuel evaporative emissions test in the state's vehicle inspection and maintenance program, saying it could reduce up to 14 tons per day of smog-forming gases by 2010. The environmentalists' request is again prompting stakeholder charges that the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), which administers the program, is dragging its feet despite substantial air board research showing the change is doable now. The low-pressure fuel evaporative...

DEVELOPERS CHALLENGE DISPUTED BROWNFIELDS BILL FACING DEADLINE

A controversial bill that would establish the toxics department as the lead agency for the cleanup of brownfield sites with vapor intrusion was expected to see a series of amendments this week that may significantly alter the measure, leading up to a crucial Jan. 30 Assembly floor vote. Developers argue current regulatory oversight of brownfield sites is sufficient, and believe giving the toxics department a lead oversight role will slow the approval process to redevelop blighted land. But bill supporters...

COUNTIES FACE LOSS OF FEDERAL AIR/TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM FUNDING

Several counties are expected to lose millions of federal dollars over the next three years for transportation projects that reduce air pollution as a result of state guidelines and changes to federal law, sources said. The funding issue is also significant to other counties because funds may be shifted to them out of California's allotment to reduce transportation pollution. How the state handles the allotment of funds will set a precedent for future regions that attain federal air standards, according...

BILLIONAIRE DEMOCRATIC DONOR BEHIND ALTERNATIVE-FUEL BALLOT INITIATIVE

Billionaire Hollywood producer and major Democratic Party contributor Steve Bing is spearheading a drive to put on the November ballot a charge on oil to raise $4 billion for numerous alternative-energy projects. Environmental groups and academicians are also backing the measure, which is awaiting approval in the attorney general's office. Meanwhile, the oil industry and other organizations are beginning a major public relations campaign to defeat the measure, calling it a hidden tax that will hurt consumers and businesses, sources...

EPA PUSH TO BOOST CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT MAY FACE LEGAL LIMITATIONS

EPA's heightened focus on criminal enforcement could increase the activities of a division that some say has been underused in forcing industry to comply with federal environmental laws, but also could face legal hurdles depending on the extent of any new collaboration between agency criminal investigators and civil inspectors, EPA sources and defense attorneys say. Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA), said last week the agency will increase efforts to crack down on...

WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL URGES NEW INDUSTRY FOCUS ON CLEAR SKIES BILL

TUCSON, AZ -- White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton urged utility officials gathered here Jan. 23 to redouble their push in Congress for the Bush administration's Clear Skies legislation, suggesting the bill, which allows increased coal use, can help solve air quality problems and high natural gas prices. Connaughton made his remarks to the 9th annual Electric Utilities Environmental Conference during an opening session in which an energy company official also suggested that the industry consider striking...

EPA FACES DILEMMA WEIGHING IN ON PETITION TO HIGH COURT OVER NSR

EPA may face a dilemma in weighing in on whether the Supreme Court should review a decision in a key clean air permit dispute because the agency must either reverse its long-standing argument in the case or back away from plans to relax new source review (NSR) provisions, which reflect the lower court's finding. Environmentalists, who appealed the case to the Supreme Court, expect EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a brief articulating the government's position on...

ACCORD SIGNALS INCREMENTAL STEP IN SECURING STRICTER CAFO MANDATES

A recent settlement between environmentalists and a large pork producer that requires hundreds of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to minimize polluted runoff signals modest progress in activists' protracted battle to secure stricter pollution controls for CAFOs, according to sources familiar with the pact. The pact is among the first in the nation to require CAFOs to implement additional environmental protection requirements, and activists may seek similar agreements in other areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, several environmentalists say. But...

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