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.

SENATE GOP MAY DEFER CONTROVERSIAL REFINERY ISSUES UNTIL CONFERENCE

A key Senate Republican is suggesting that lawmakers may have to wait until a possible congressional conference committee negotiates refinery legislation before deciding whether to pursue controversial proposals in a House GOP bill that are intended to boost refining capacity in the wake of the two recent hurricanes. The suggestion by Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) could foreshadow the emerging strategy to pass refinery legislation, as the House may soon approve a plan sponsored by House...

EPA MAY ALLOW CAIR TO TAKE PLACE OF NATIONAL PARK AIR QUALITY RULES

EPA may propose allowing certain states to avoid controversial limits for air quality in national parks and other clean areas, if they can show they achieve equivalent benefits under the cap-and-trade program set out in the clean air interstate rule (CAIR). The proposal appears certain to meet criticism from environmentalists and states, who have argued that allowing a cap-and-trade as a substitute for localized limits could make individual parks vulnerable to pollution. And because CAIR only applies to Eastern states...

U.S. CONSIDERS PACT TO LIMIT SHIP POLLUTION STRICTER THAN TREATY LIMITS

The United States may seek an agreement with other countries to limit ships' sulfur fuel content at levels stricter than what an international shipping treaty allows, at the same time that the Senate is preparing to ratify the treaty negotiated under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). If enacted, the treaty would commit the United States to require reductions of sulfur content in maritime diesel fuel to 4.5 percent by volume. Ratification would also give EPA the power to start work...

INTERNATIONAL PANEL FINDS CARBON SEQUESTRATION HAS HIGH PRICE TAG

The U.N. International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the feasibility of carbon sequestration has found that capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) is possible but extremely costly, raising the price of electricity between one and five cents per kilowatt hour. Electricity now costs between 4 and 5 cents a kilowatt hour, meaning that sequestration could potentially double the cost, according to the report. The IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, released Sept. 26, is the...

STATE MERCURY TESTS MAY SPUR NEW RULES FOR NEVADA MINE EMISSIONS PACT

State officials in Idaho and Utah are conducting tests to try to establish the cause of significant mercury depositions in their state, a development that environmentalists say could force EPA to include stricter emissions control requirements in a voluntary pact with Nevada gold mines, which the activists blame for the depositions. The two states' environmental departments have been unable so far to directly link high levels of mercury in fish tissue to emissions from Nevada mining operations, but the issue...

STATES RAISE CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS OVER URBAN PM COARSE PROPOSAL

Several Western states are warning EPA that agency staff proposals to issue a new standard regulating coarse particulate matter (PM) only in urban areas would violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause by exempting rural areas and failing to protect rural residents' health. At the same time, several of EPA's science advisers are urging the agency not to adopt an urban-only national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for coarse particles, known as "PM coarse," with one adviser believing such a...

DISASTER RELIEF DELAYS VOINOVICH SENATE HEARING ON NEW EPA PM RULES

Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) plans to delay a hearing he had planned to hold within weeks challenging EPA's pending proposal for new particulate matter (PM) standards because of the Senate's workload on disaster relief following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Voinovich was considering a Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing to raise concerns about EPA possibly issuing stricter PM standards, and to establish some EPW oversight over the agency's deliberations on the issue, according to a Republican source (...

TOP CALIFORNIA ENERGY OFFICIAL'S SUPPORT OF COAL OFFSETS CRITICIZED

A policy memo by one of California's top energy officials indicating support for pollution offsets for certain coal power plants is drawing objections from clean and renewable energy advocates. The debate over the offset issue is considered crucial in determining how many and what types of coal power plants are built in Western states, and comes at a time when the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) is heading the state's landmark initiative to draft recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)...

OMB, EPA SEEK OUTSIDE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OF OZONE RISK ESTIMATES

EPA staff say White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) officials are seeking outside scrutiny of agency ozone mortality risk estimates, which may affect EPA's ability to justify upcoming rules imposing emissions limits on mobile sources, power plants and industrial boilers. EPA analysts are currently combining ozone mortality estimates for upcoming national air standards from four extensive studies that show that ozone exposures can cause premature deaths. The EPA review would mark a first-time endorsement of recent scientific studies...

EPA Mobile Source Rule Prompts Clash Between Oil, Auto Industries

EPA's upcoming mobile source air toxics rule appears to be moving toward placing limits on fuel content rather than on new automobile engine controls -- a development that is spurring fierce lobbying from petroleum companies and refiners who fear such an approach could favor automakers and engine manufacturers. Oil and gas industry officials are warning the agency that strict fuel controls would hurt their industry at a time of high fuel prices and supply problems caused by natural disasters. Yet...

SENATE GOP MAY DEFER CONTROVERSIAL REFINERY ISSUES UNTIL CONFERENCE

A key Senate Republican is suggesting that lawmakers may have to wait until a possible congressional conference committee negotiates refinery legislation before deciding whether to pursue controversial proposals in a House GOP bill that are intended to boost refining capacity in the wake of the two recent hurricanes. The suggestion by Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) could foreshadow the emerging strategy to pass refinery legislation, as the House may approve as early as this week a...

OBSERVERS DOUBT GOP PLAN WILL RESULT IN NEW REFINERIES ON CLOSED BASES

Key Republicans' plans to increase and diversify the nation's oil refining capacity in part by siting new refineries at shuttered military bases are unlikely to succeed given expected local opposition and other factors, according to BRAC redevelopers, refining industry sources and other observers. Supporters of the plan argue that because many military sites are already contaminated, building a refinery may be a good use of the land. But one critic cites the concern that the military could use the BRAC...

EPA RESISTS CONGRESSIONAL PRESSURE TO DEVELOP INTERIM TCE LEVEL

EPA is resisting calls to develop an interim cleanup standard for the ubiquitous contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE), despite new interest in the issue from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and a call for hearings in the House. The renewed pressure comes after President Bush in August signed EPA's fiscal year 2006 spending bill, which included language calling on the agency to develop interim approaches for TCE, a solvent found at numerous defense and industrial sites nationwide. The agency in June declined...

AIR FORCE SIDESTEPS DISPUTE WITH EPA, TENTATIVELY AGREES TO CLEANUP

The Air Force has tentatively agreed to continue to clean up contaminated groundwater at a former California base under an existing EPA remediation plan, sidelining a formal dispute between the military and regulators over the cleanup remedy until technical issues can be further evaluated and discussed. Senior leaders within the Air Force, EPA Region IX, California Department of Toxic Substances Control and California Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed to defer final action on how to address volatile organic compound...

EPA DENIES 'ONE CLEANUP PROGRAM' HAS STALLED, DESPITE STATE CONCERNS

EPA is denying that its "One Cleanup Program" has stalled, despite concerns raised both by state waste regulators and environmental commissioners that there has been little activity under the initiative, which seeks to reduce duplication and barriers between the agency's numerous site remediation programs. At the annual meeting of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) earlier this month, Terrance Gray of the Association of State & Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) raised concerns that the One Cleanup Program...

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY WANTS 'SAFE HARBOR' FOR NANOTECH REPORTING

The chemical industry is urging EPA to develop a "safe harbor" from agency enforcement as an incentive for industry participation in a voluntary reporting program on nanoparticle data that will help EPA develop a regulatory approach for the emerging technology. The Nanotechnology Panel of the American Chemistry Council presented written comments to the Interim Ad Hoc Work Group on Nanoscale Materials of the National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee during a Sept. 29 public meeting in Arlington, VA. The...

EPA FINE PARTICLE PROPOSAL INCLUDES CONTROVERSIAL EXEMPTIONS

EPA's long-awaited rule to implement new limits on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) appears likely to be challenged by environmentalists, since it is less prescriptive than activists had urged and relaxes some key requirements. Specifically, the rule does not require strict deadlines and pollution control requirements that activists have been seeking; it relaxes new source review (NSR) requirements in some areas compared to an earlier standard for large particles; and it eliminates another pollution control mandate, known as reasonably available control...

DOD PERCHLORATE POLICY RAISES QUESTIONS ON WATER, RANGE CLEANUPS

The Defense Department has issued what may be its clearest statement so far on how it plans to address extensive contamination by perchlorate -- a component of rocket fuel and military munitions and a naturally occurring chemical that has contaminated a slew of waterbodies across the United States. But at least one critic is raising concerns that the policy will not ensure cleanup of operational ranges and contaminated waterbodies that are not drinking water sources, leading to continuing disputes at...

House Refinery Bill Sparks Concern About Impact On EPA Diesel Rules

Legislation that could be voted on by the House this week to expand the nation's oil refining capacity and limit the number of EPA-approved fuels is prompting concerns by state officials and others that it could derail implementation of clean-diesel emission rules over the next several years. At issue is a section of H.R. 3893, the Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005, that would require EPA to limit its approvals of fuels in state implementation plans to six types,...

Industry Pressure Prompts California To Delay Major Off-Road Rule

Under increasing pressure from industry and more than a dozen state lawmakers, California air officials last week indefinitely postponed a major regulation to limit pollution from forklifts and other off-road, gasoline- and propane-fueled vehicles. The rule, which proposes future state-specific standards more stringent than EPA's, is considered a significant element of the state implementation plan (SIP) to achieve federal ambient air quality standards. At issue is the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) proposed large spark ignition (LSI) off-road engine regulation,...

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