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.

NORTHEAST, MIDWEST STATES EYE STRICT REGIONAL EMISSIONS CONTROLS

State officials from the Northeast and Midwest are developing a host of potential emissions controls across a "super-region" of 17 states, with an immediate focus on establishing a consistent reformulated gasoline blend for the entire region, and stringent emissions caps on industrial boilers and some consumer products. Air officials from nine of these states met Dec. 8 and 9 in Pittsburgh to start work on developing regional methods to reduce pollution in five Midwest states, 12 Northeast states and the...

EPA DELAYS DECISION ON DRY CLEANER RESTRICTIONS IN APARTMENTS

EPA is putting off a decision on whether to prohibit dry cleaners in residential buildings from using machines that emit the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (perc), saying it needs more information before moving forward with such restrictions. The delay comes after industry urged EPA and the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to drop the planned restrictions and instead develop technology-based standards, similar to standards being implemented in New York and California. In a long-awaited proposed air toxics "residual...

ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS OPTIONS FOR NEW PARTICULATE STANDARDS

EPA is weighing options for setting new particulate matter (PM) standards that the agency is expected to propose later this month, including an approach that would strengthen the existing daily standard for fine particles but leave an annual standard for the pollutant in place, according to several sources following the issue. The agency's effort to consider new standards to comply with a 2004 settlement with environmentalists is prompting 11th-hour lobbying by utility, agriculture and mining industry officials, who have been...

NORTHEAST TO ANNOUNCE CLIMATE PLAN AMID CONCERNS FROM KEY STATES

Northeast states are on the brink of announcing a regional climate plan that may lack participation from key states, in a development that could lead to a scaled-back plan that is weaker as a national model for mandatory greenhouse gas reductions. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) -- whose state played a key role in developing the plan -- has suggested he may drop out of the proposal to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants in a nine-state region,...

ACTIVISTS EYE UTILITY STEAM UNIT STANDARDS AS NEXT TARGET FOR GHG SUIT

Environmentalists plan to sue EPA for failing to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) in new emissions standards for power plant steam generating units, marking the latest lawsuit in a litigation strategy that claims EPA is obligated to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, environmentalists say. Plans for the lawsuit come after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently rejected the appeal of a ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA , a...

BINGAMAN SEEKS TO MOVE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL PRIOR TO 2006 ELECTIONS

NEW YORK -- Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who won Senate endorsement earlier this year of a resolution calling for mandatory climate change controls, is suggesting he will try to move a new version of his climate change legislation early next year to force attention to the issue during the 2006 election season. However, Bingaman is also cautioning that state-level efforts to regulate greenhouse gases may complicate efforts to reach a national agreement. At a Nov. 30 climate change conference hosted...

GOLDMAN SACHS' NOVEL CLIMATE PLAN IS LATEST TARGET OF FREE-MARKET FIRE

Free-market advocates are targeting Goldman Sachs, the first U.S. investment bank to adopt a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy that commits the company to promoting alternative energy sources and to taking aggressive steps to limit emissions that cause climate change. The Action Fund Management Group -- a mutual fund created to advocate for free-market interests -- is urging the audit and corporate governance committees of the company's board of directors to conduct an investigation into the creation of Goldman Sachs'...

PENNSYLVANIA DRAWS MIXED REACTION TO CAIR UTILITY EXEMPTION PLAN

State air officials and environmentalists are giving mixed reactions to Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell's (D) recent proposal to exempt some power plants from meeting the emissions goals of EPA's clean air interstate rule (CAIR), if utility companies commit to replacing those facilities with cleaner-burning coal gasification plants. Rendell is asking EPA to endorse his Energy Deployment for a Growing Economy (EDGE) proposal to encourage utility companies to replace older plants with new, cleaner ones. Under the plan, the older plants...

STATES EYE EPA GUIDANCE TO HELP CREDIT DIESEL RETROFITS IN AIR PLANS

EPA is developing guidance and emissions models on the benefits of reducing diesel emissions through voluntary vehicle retrofits, which state officials hope will give them much-needed assistance as they seek credit for reducing emissions through retrofits to meet federal air standards. The agency has announced that it will release next month a guidance document for states on how to obtain credit for emissions reductions from retrofit programs they include in their state implementation plans (SIPs), which are blueprints describing how...

LOCAL OFFICIALS CITE HURDLES IN GAINING CREDIT FOR VOLUNTARY PROJECTS

Local government officials are arguing that EPA is making it too difficult to credit innovative, voluntary programs under state plans to improve air quality, and are calling for improved EPA guidance on how to encourage these programs. The National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP) released a report Nov. 22 on the status of innovative, voluntary transportation programs at the local level, such as car sharing, public transit improvements and low-emission municipal fleets. The report concluded that these programs...

NORTHEAST, MIDWEST STATES EYE STRICT REGIONAL EMISSIONS CONTROLS

State officials from the Northeast and Midwest are developing a host of potential emissions controls across a "super-region" of 17 states, with an immediate focus on establishing a consistent reformulated gasoline blend for the entire region, and stringent emissions caps on industrial boilers and some consumer products. Air officials from nine of these states states met Dec. 8 and 9 in Pittsburgh to start work on developing regional methods to reduce pollution in five Midwest states, 12 Northeast states and...

EPA, NEW YORK BACK TIRES AS PAPER PLANT FUEL WITHOUT KEY PM CONTROLS

EPA is supporting a draft New York permit allowing a large paper company on the Vermont border to conduct emissions tests on burning waste tires as fuel without installing additional pollution controls for toxics and fine particles (PM2.5), despite furious opposition from Vermont lawmakers. The issue of burning used tires as fuel is growing in importance for both industry, which is seeking alternative fuels given soaring natural gas prices, and EPA, which issued a policy under its waste reuse initiative...

TEXAS DECISION MAY BOOST PUSH FOR CLEAN COAL IN STATE AIR PERMITS

Texas regulators are planning to decide this week whether air permitting authorities should require coal gasification technology to be weighed as an alternative to conventional coal-burning at proposed new power plants in the state, a decision utility officials and environmentalists are watching for its implications for one of the nation's largest energy markets. The decision, slated at press time for Dec. 14, by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) comes in the wake of a settlement announced Dec. 5...

ACTIVISTS LOBBY STATES TO ADOPT CALIFORNIA RULE ON FLARING EMISSIONS

Environmentalists are lobbying air officials in Northeast and Southern states to adopt first-time regulations limiting refineries' ability to burn off excess gases, and are pushing a new rule in a California air district as a model for these states to adopt. Activists are aiming for states to emulate a regulation developed by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). The AQMD rule imposes stringent restrictions on when facilities can burn off excess gases in a process known as flaring,...

EPA DELAYS DECISION ON DRY CLEANER RESTRICTIONS IN APARTMENTS

EPA is putting off a decision on whether to prohibit dry cleaners in residential buildings from using machines that emit the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (perc), saying that it needs more information before moving forward with such new restrictions. The delay comes after industry urged EPA and the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to drop the planned restrictions and instead develop technology-based standards, similar to ones being implemented in New York and California. In a long-awaited proposed air...

EPA, UTILITIES TARGET STATE RULES THAT MAY BLOCK ENERGY EFFICIENCY

A new energy efficiency group spearheaded by EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) may recommend policy solutions at the state regulatory level that aim to encourage utilities to support energy efficiency, by changing electricity rate regulations that reward electric generators based on the volume of power sold. The new group represents an unusual foray for the agency into electricity rate policy, but proponents say efficiency measures are a key way to reduce demand for natural gas and to cut...

OMB SAYS EPA AIR RULES PROVIDE LION'S SHARE OF REGULATORY BENEFITS

A White House report has confirmed findings from previous years that EPA air regulations contribute the majority of federal regulatory benefits, but also prompt significant costs. The report, unveiled by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), finds that EPA controls on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) account for most of the social benefits of regulations across the entire federal government, although the report cautions that the extent of the benefits from these air pollution rules is very uncertain...

NEW DATA QUALITY SUIT COULD FORCE EPA TO ACT ON DELAYED PETITIONS

EPA could face litigation over its long delays in acting on petitions filed under the Information Quality Act (IQA) over agency air rules and other issues, if medical marijuana advocates succeed in a new IQA lawsuit they are planning to file against the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), legal observers say. If the court accepts the medical marijuana case, the lawsuit would mark the first time a court has heard a dispute over agency inaction under the IQA,...

COMPETING STUDIES MAY NOT END CLEAR SKIES DEADLOCK BEFORE ELECTIONS

Two conflicting reviews of EPA's cost-benefit analysis comparing President Bush's Clear Skies multi-pollutant emissions legislation and several alternatives are unlikely to break a Senate deadlock over the issue before the 2006 elections, as lawmakers focus on bolstering their own clean air bills instead of negotiating a compromise, according to industry and environmental group sources. Clear Skies would regulate emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and mercury from power plants. Alternative bills offered by Sens. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and...

NEW YORK LAWMAKERS TARGET WTC DUST SAMPLING PLAN FOR GAO STUDY

New York congressional leaders are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an investigation of EPA's decision to adopt a controversial dust sampling and cleanup plan which will determine how the agency conducts cleanups in the area around the World Trade Center (WTC) contaminated after the 9/11 attacks. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) argue the sampling plan is not based on science and will not result in effective cleanup. Clinton and Nadler wrote a...

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