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.

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...

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)...

NORTHEAST TO PURSUE CLIMATE PLAN DESPITE MASSACHUSETTS' CONCERNS

Northeast states have committed to moving forward with a regional climate plan even though Massachusetts appears reluctant to participate, a development that could lead to a scaled-back plan that is weaker as a national model for mandatory greenhouse gas reductions. The decision to advance the plan comes as many companies in the financial industry are pushing for the proposal as a way to help businesses anticipate future limits on emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). However, some power companies and other...

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...

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...

Standards Group To Develop Guide For Determining Vapor Intrusion Risks

A standards development organization has convened a group to develop voluntary measures for determining vapor intrusion risks for commercial real estate transactions, an effort that could help redevelopers bypass controversial guides developed by EPA and a number of states. Vapor intrusion results when harmful chemicals are released into the air from polluted land or groundwater under buildings. ASTM International, a technical standards organization, approved the new task group in October that will develop standards for assessing vapor intrusion in property...

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 11 th -hour lobbying by utility, agriculture and mining industry officials, who...

Northeast Region To Proceed With Climate Plan Despite Massachusetts Concerns

Northeast states have committed to move forward with a regional climate plan even though the key state of Massachusetts appears reluctant to participate, but some observers say a scaled-back plan may be weaker as a national model for mandatory greenhouse gas reductions. The decision to advance the plan comes as many companies in the financial industry are pushing for the proposal as a way to help businesses anticipate future limits on emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). However, some power companies...

California Recommends Broader Emissions Cuts From Contested LNG Project

California air officials are recommending that the developer of a controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in southern California recalculate and mitigate excess pollution the state says the project will generate, including emissions from all relevant vessels operating within 25 nautical miles of the coast. The California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) recommendations could complicate the finalization of the project's environmental documents at a time when industry groups and others are touting LNG importation as a means of lowering record-high natural...

INCONSISTENT STATE TCE STANDARDS PROMPT GROWING CLEANUP CONCERNS

Faced with vague draft guidance from EPA, regulators in key states 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 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...

ASTM TO DEVELOP STANDARD FOR DETERMINING VAPOR INTRUSION RISKS

A standards development organization has convened a group to develop voluntary measures for determining vapor intrusion risks for commercial real estate transactions, an effort that could help redevelopers bypass controversial vapor intrusion guides developed by EPA and a number of states. ASTM International, a technical standards organization, approved the new task group in October that will develop standards for assessing vapor intrusion in property transactions in response to growing concerns that property owners could be held liable for vapor intrusion,...

APPELLATE STANDING PLAN COULD LIMIT SUITS ON EPA RULES, ACTIVISTS SAY

Public interest and environmental groups are objecting to a proposal by the appellate court that hears direct appeals of key EPA regulations to tighten its rules on establishing standing -- or the legal right to sue -- because they say it could limit their ability to file suit by discriminating against outside groups not directly subject to federal regulations. The groups say the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is pursuing an overly restrictive definition of...

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...

INDUSTRIAL BURNING OF KATRINA WASTE FACES AIR PERMIT, COST HURDLES

EPA and other federal agencies are working with industry and Gulf Coast states to identify administrative ways to overcome permitting barriers so that the large volume of wood and other debris from Hurricane Katrina and other storms can be burned as fuel in industrial facilities. EPA and industry sources are arguing that burning the enormous amount of debris in boilers and other industrial facilities is more environmentally sound and useful than open burns or landfills. But federal, state and industry...

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...

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...

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...

Competing Reviews Unlikely To Break Clear Skies Deadlock Before '06 Elections

Two conflicting reviews of EPA's cost-benefit analysis comparing President Bush's Clear Skies multipollutant emissions legislation and several legislative 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, several sources say. The Clear Skies bill 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 James...

Inconsistent State TCE Standards Prompt Growing Cleanup Concerns

Faced with vague draft guidance from EPA, regulators in key states 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 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...

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...

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