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.

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...

EPA FACES FUNDING PRESSURES FOR COMPETING PROGRAMS IN FY07 REQUEST

As the Bush administration develops its fiscal year 2007 budget request, EPA is under competing pressure from congressional Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, industry groups and state officials to propose adequate funds for new and long-standing agency programs from a shrinking pot of discretionary dollars. But the administration's request is likely to disappoint some, if not all, of these groups, as observers expect slashes to the agency's budget because the White House is seeking to control the skyrocketing federal deficit. EPA officials...

ACTIVISTS WEIGH LITIGATION AS EPA DOWNPLAYS RISKS FROM HURRICANE

EPA and the Louisiana environment department's recent conclusion that Hurricane Katrina did not create long-term environmental health threats may play a key role in litigation that environmentalists are considering against the federal government to force additional health warnings and cleanup of affected areas. At the same time, a community task force that reports to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) is drafting a report that may go to Congress early next year that will call for a full-scale cleanup of...

EPA Rejection Of IGCC In Air Permits Paves Way For Coal Plant Battles

EPA has set the stage for a new round of clean air confrontations with environmental groups by issuing a finding that permit writers do not have to consider requiring the use of coal gasification as a best available control technology (BACT) in new coal-fired power plants' Clean Air Act permits. EPA's announcement came one day before a hearing in front of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) -- a state with numerous pending proposals for coal-fired facilities -- where...

State Siting Bids, DOE Pact Pressure Congress For Clean Coal Plant Funds

Congress will face increasing pressure to fully fund the Bush administration's $1 billion FutureGen zero-emissions power plant project, after the Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that it had reached a deal with an industry consortium to build the plant and a host of states are competing for the plant within their borders, observers say. When President Bush first announced in 2003 the plan to build a power plant that would capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2), he promoted...

INCONSISTENT STATE TCE STANDARDS PROMPT GROWING CLEANUP CONCERNS

Faced with vague draft guidance from EPA, state regulators are developing their own widely varying cleanup standards for trichloroethylene (TCE), a ubiquitous contaminant at Superfund and other waste sites that is attracting new attention from regulators because its vapors can infiltrate buildings and contaminate indoor air. However, the varying state standards are drawing concern from the Air Force and representatives of companies like DuPont and IBM, who fear the patchwork of state standards is complicating remediation efforts, property transfers and...

DRAFT NANOTECH WHITE PAPER UNDERSCORES EPA REGULATORY CHALLENGES

A draft EPA "white paper" on the agency's research and regulatory priorities for nanotechnology materials underscores how limited information about the environmental and human health risks of the fast developing technology is posing difficult challenges for EPA regulators and researchers. One agency source says that while the document provides a good overview of some of the issues, agency officials are struggling to consider real case studies because confidential business information (CBI) rules bar officials from discussing any of the 10...

ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS OPTIONS FOR NEW EPA PARTICULATE STANDARDS

EPA is weighing options for 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 consideration of 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 ramping up...

EPA Plan To Amend Portland Cement MACT Draws Broad Opposition

Five years after a federal appeals court ordered EPA to revamp its maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rule for Portland cement kilns, environmentalists involved in the original lawsuit say a just-issued MACT proposal still fails to satisfy the court order, while an industry group says the agency may have gone too far. EPA Dec. 2 proposed to amend its Portland cement MACT rule by requiring existing facilities to control for hydrocarbons and new facilities to control for hydrochloric acid (HCl)...

DRAFT NANOTECH WHITE PAPER UNDERSCORES EPA REGULATORY CHALLENGES

A draft EPA "white paper" on the agency's research and regulatory priorities for nanotechnology materials underscores how limited information about the environmental and human health risks of the fast-developing technology is posing difficult challenges for EPA regulators and researchers. One agency source says that while the document provides a good overview of some of the issues, agency officials are struggling to consider real case studies because confidential business information (CBI) rules bar officials from discussing any of the eight applications...

OMB DEFENDS 'GOOD GUIDANCE' BULLETIN FROM EPA CLAIMS OF DIRE RESULTS

The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) is defending its recently released draft bulletin requiring public notice and comment and expanded OMB review to improve guidance documents, saying EPA fears that it will cripple scientific assessments and day-to-day agency functions are unfounded. An OMB official says the bulletin will not significantly influence how EPA issues its guidances because the agency in many cases already goes beyond OMB's requirements. "The best guidance practices at EPA would not be affected...

DHS RISK, INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY PLANS DRAW WATER INDUSTRY CRITICISMS

Drinking water and wastewater treatment industry officials are raising concerns that Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) plan to develop a controversial risk analysis protocol could force some facilities to conduct new, or revise existing, vulnerability assessments -- including assessments that drinking water facilities have already submitted to EPA. In recent comments to DHS, industry officials also say a draft DHS infrastructure security plan may not recognize the work that many utilities have done to protect their facilities and urge DHS...

ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS OPTIONS FOR NEW EPA PARTICULATE STANDARDS

EPA is weighing options for 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 consideration of 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 ramping up...

CAL/EPA CLIMATE ACTION TEAM TO RECOMMEND MANDATORY INDUSTRY REPORTING

The Cal/EPA-led Climate Action Team (CAT) was expected at press time to recommend in a draft report to the governor that greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting industrial facilities be required to report their emissions to the state. The report is expected to argue that this reporting could help lay the foundation for a future carbon cap-and-trade program, according to sources. Mandatory reporting of GHG emissions is just one key policy that is expected to be widely debated in the Legislature next year...

DISCOVERY DENIAL SEEN KILLING PAINT INDUSTRY SUIT AGAINST ARB FEES

Paint industry attorneys are mulling whether to appeal a judge's denial last week of their request to interview air board officials over the promulgation of controversial new fees in 2003, acknowledging that without the deposition they are heading into trial with little chance to win. The industry may wait until the conclusion of the superior court case and then appeal, or appeal the discovery ruling separately while the case proceeds, according to sources. A state attorney applauded the deposition ruling...

LAWSUIT CHALLENGING DPR RISK REVIEWS SEEN AS UPHILL BATTLE

Environmentalists suing the pesticides department over its implementation of the state's toxic air contaminant (TAC) law are forecasting an uphill battle to convince a superior court judge to force the department to change its pesticide risk assessment policy, based on comments the judge made last week. While environmental attorneys hope the judge will force the department to accelerate its risk assessment process to include the review of more pesticides, they also recognize that courts have historically not been comfortable interfering...

LLOYD ARGUES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE SHIFT FROM COSTS TO PROFITS

Cal/EPA Secretary Alan Lloyd this week aimed to steer international discussion over climate change emission reductions from potential costs to possible cost-savings and profits, in part through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Brazilian state São Paulo. At this week's U.N. climate change convention in Montreal, Lloyd touted the MOU and a related report as providing invaluable potential for California and São Paulo to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while bolstering their economies. Lloyd reported to officials at the...

BUILDING INDUSTRY LIKELY TO SUE OVER SAN JOAQUIN MITIGATION FEE

The California Building Industry Association (CBIA) says it will likely sue the San Joaquin Valley air district if it adopts next week a landmark rule to assess substantial new fees on development projects to mitigate air pollution, charging the fees fail several state and federal constitutional tests. District officials have defended the legality of the fee, which is estimated to bring in up to $450 million over the next five years and serve as a major component in the state...

ACTIVISTS ATTACK ARB INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PLAN

Environmentalists are slamming an air board plan that evaluates the potential health risks of planned port, highway and rail infrastructure expansion projects and recommends strategies to mitigate their pollution impacts, charging that the document lacks any assurance that pollution reduction will be required or achieved. The strong level of opposition to the new air board report may pressure Schwarzenegger Administration officials to slow their controversial infrastructure expansion plans, sources said. At issue is the Air Resources Board's Dec. 1 Draft...

MONTREAL TALKS EYE POST-BUSH PLAN FOR SETTING EMISSIONS TARGETS

Delegates from nearly 190 countries meeting in Montreal on climate change may extend for at least one year, until 2009 or later, the deadline for reaching an agreement on a new round of greenhouse gas reductions after the Kyoto Protocol. The extension, if adopted, would delay a decision until after the Bush administration leaves office amid allegations that the United States has been attempting to derail the talks. The European Union (EU) suggested extending the deadline during discussions this week...

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