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.

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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.

DELAYED MERCURY MEETING FUELS DOUBTS ON EPA'S COST-BENEFIT REVIEW

EPA staff and scientists say a decision by senior agency managers to postpone a workshop on the cardiovascular health effects of mercury confirms their long-standing suspicions about the administration's commitment to fully examining the benefits of regulating the pollutant. The administration is under a court-ordered deadline to release a final rule on regulating power plant mercury emissions. But postponement of the health effects workshop will likely push back a full cost-benefit review of those standards until after their expected release...

Inhofe Expects 'Innocuous' CO2 Language In Clear Skies Markup Bill

The Senate's Clear Skies legislation to be marked up next week may have "innocuous language" on climate change to help senators who need to tell constituents they are dealing with the issue, but the bill will remain a three-pollutant bill, according to the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). Inhofe suggested that the "innocuous language" pertaining to climate change that may be added to the Clear Skies legislation could pertain to technology or...

INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT UNLIKELY TO DELAY EPA MERCURY RULE

The EPA inspector general's (IG) report criticizing the agency's development of its proposed regulations on mercury emissions from power plants is unlikely to delay the final rule's release, according to critics and proponents of the regulation, even though the IG and agency critics have called for delays. The Feb. 3 report says the administration's preferred cap-and-trade approach for regulating mercury emissions from power plants should be strengthened, while all but calling illegal EPA's approach for developing a proposed technology-based standard...

CALIFORNIA EYES RULES FOR MARKETERS TO LIMIT OUT-OF-STATE CO2 EMISSIONS

California regulators may require power marketers, rather than generating facilities, to obtain permits for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions under the state's pending greenhouse gas rules. The requirement would be a way to encourage production of cleaner electricity from out of state, and also lower emissions from in-state facilities, according to energy experts. While the approach is particularly relevant to California, which imports much of its power, sources familiar with the approach say it could serve as a model for preventing...

BUDGET CUTS MAY HAMPER TRIBAL EFFORTS TO WIN TITLE V PERMIT POWER

EPA's ambitious plans to grant tribal areas Title V clean air operating permit authority are at risk because of proposed cuts in the Bush administration's fiscal year 2006 budget request, as well as cuts in FY05 appropriations, tribal sources say. The cuts, including a 7 percent cut in FY05 from state and tribal assistance grants, make it less likely that more tribal areas will set up new air programs, which is a first step toward qualifying for the Title V...

NEW HAMPSHIRE EYES FLEXIBLE COMPLIANCE OPTION IN MERCURY BILL

New Hampshire legislators are considering a bill that allows power plants to use "alternative" compliance options, such as product recycling, as a way to meet strict caps on mercury emissions from smokestacks. The bill is based on a proposal by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) but state regulators have not determined how they would measure emissions reductions from these alternative methods. One official notes that industrial facilities are unlikely to receive a "one to one credit" for...

CALIFORNIA PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT FEE TO CURB POLLUTION FACES DELAY

A landmark California air district regulation that could be a model for other districts by establishing a first-time "indirect source" fee on developers of new residential, commercial and industrial units to mitigate pollution is being help up for technical, legal and political reasons, according to sources. Officials recently decided to proceed with the residential portion of the San Joaquin Valley air district rule first, putting off the provisions for commercial and industrial development, according to a district official. The indirect...

EPA TO LAUNCH CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVES TO CURB AIR POLLUTION

EPA is developing two new initiatives to establish guidelines for determining the clean air benefits from projects that encourage energy efficiency and renewables. Under the first initiative, the agency is preparing a new guidance document to help determine the emissions benefits of energy efficiency and renewable projects. The second initiative would offer states specific advice on measuring and verifying the emissions reductions from these projects that could be credited under EPA's regional smog reduction plan, known as the NOx SIP...

PLANNERS MAY CALL FOR EPA SIP RULES TO REFLECT NEW EMISSIONS MODEL

City planners say they may urge EPA to amend its rules for developing plans to implement the agency's new ozone standards because of concerns they may not be able to reconcile data from EPA's next-generation mobile source emissions model, slated for introduction in 2007, with implementation plans being calculated using the current model. The planners warn that they will be forced to use EPA's new model, the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES), once it is introduced in 2007 -- but...

EPA STAFF FACE INDUSTRY OPPOSITION OVER STRICT NEW PM PLAN

EPA staff are likely to face major opposition from industry groups over new draft recommendations for strict particulate matter (PM) air pollution standards. The new recommendations, which propose significantly stricter standards compared to a previous draft, appear to ignore industry concerns that stringent new curbs on emissions may be unwarranted. The electric power, agriculture and other industrial sectors have lobbied the agency heavily in recent months to consider new scientific evidence that the health effects of the pollutant may be...

DELAYED MERCURY MEETING FUELS DOUBTS ON EPA'S COST-BENEFIT REVIEW

EPA staff and scientists say a decision by agency air chief Jeffrey Holmstead to postpone a workshop on the cardiovascular health effects of mercury confirms their long-standing suspicions about the administration's commitment to fully examine the benefits of regulating the pollutant. The administration is under a court-ordered deadline to release a final rule on regulating power plant mercury emissions. But postponement of the health effects workshop will likely push back a full cost-benefit review of those standards until after their...

STATE ACTION MAY INCREASE MOMENTUM FOR ADOPTING ZEV STANDARDS

Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maine are joining the growing number of states considering adopting California's standards for zero emissions vehicles (ZEV), prompting optimism among state officials and activists that states will create an unstoppable momentum to require clean vehicles throughout most of the country. But automakers vow they will lobby intensely against state attempts to get more low-to-zero emission vehicles on the market. Pennsylvania and Illinois join the ranks of Washington, Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, Maine and New Hampshire, where state...

CALIFORNIA FLEET-RULE WAIVER ALL BUT DEAD FOLLOWING EPA REVIEW

California's air resources board (CARB) is unlikely to seek a waiver from EPA to reinstate controversial first-time, district-specific "clean fuel fleet" rules judged unlawful by the Supreme Court last year, officials say. In a win for the diesel engine and vehicle industry, EPA officials told state board staffers there are at least three conditions that must be met for the South Coast air district rules to potentially qualify for a federal waiver, one of which could take up to five...

ENGINE MAKERS TO SEEK DELAY OF CARB HEAVY-DUTY DIESEL OBD RULE

Heavy-duty diesel engine makers are expected to seek a delay or relaxation of a draft California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation requiring 2010 engines to meet advanced on-board diagnostic (OBD) specifications that improve emission controls. Engine makers say they are burdened with meeting new state and national 2007 engine emission standards, and the air board should harmonize with a federal OBD rule being developed that would start later. CARB's proposed OBD rule for heavy-duty engines aims to advance OBD systems...

REPORT DOWNPLAYS CONCERNS ON "LEAKAGE" IN NORTHEAST CLIMATE PLAN

A new report by an environmental think tank says that regulators' recent experience developing a regional ozone pollution trading plan may help alleviate concerns that a pending carbon dioxide (CO2) trading program would create a "leakage" problem by shifting emissions to states not subject to its mandates, officials familiar with the program say. State officials working on New England's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) are slated to consider the report as they make several key decisions about the program over...

SENATE GOP VOWS PROCEDURAL MOVE TO FORCE FLOOR VOTE ON CLEAR SKIES

Faced with a 9-9 vote on the Clear Skies bill, Republican senators on the Environment & Public Works Committee are eying a special procedural maneuver to allow them to sidestep the committee gridlock and bring the bill directly to the Senate floor for debate. The procedure, known as Rule 14, allows for legislation or a resolution to bypass committee review and be immediately placed on the Senate floor calendar. Regardless of whether that happens, if no compromise is reached between...

CO2 DEBATE BLAMED FOR TEPID REACTION TO BUSH'S CALL FOR CLEAR SKIES

Congress' lukewarm response to President Bush's mention of Clear Skies in his State of the Union address is a sign that lawmakers are still uncertain whether a final version of the plan will address carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to industry and environmentalist sources. The issue of CO2 controls has been a stumbling block in efforts to break a congressional stalemate over Clear Skies,with Democrats and some Republicans pushing for regulation of the greenhouse gas and GOP leaders and the...

REPUBLICANS, INDUSTRY DISMISS GIVING STATES NEW MOBILE SOURCE POWERS

Republican and industry sources doubt a letter from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) calling for Clear Skies to expand the authority of states to regulate mobile sources will have any impact, despite its entry into the record during a hearing on the controversial bill. In a letter sent by Maryland state delegate James Hubbard -- chairman of the group's Environment & Natural Resources Committee -- members urge the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee to secure in Clear...

SCHWARZENEGGER PRESSES CONGRESS TO PROTECT STATE CAA POWER

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is backing efforts to persuade Congress to protect the state's right to set more stringent on- and off-road source emission rules than EPA, and to allow other states to copy those rules. The governor's request to leading federal lawmakers, sent in a joint letter with New York Gov. George Pataki (R) on Jan. 25, comes as senators consider national Clear Skies legislation, which some sources believe could provide a vehicle for provisions to weaken California's...

WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL AGREES TO REVIEW AIR TOXICS WAIVER IN CLEAR SKIES

The White House's top environment official, James Connaughton, is promising a closer review of controversial Clear Skies provisions that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) says would allow industrial facilities to avoid existing air toxics control requirements and emit huge amounts of toxic chemicals. Connaughton's pledge came at a Senate environment committee hearing Feb. 2 on a reintroduced Clear Skies bill that was held as part of Republican efforts to jump-start action on the administration-backed legislation ( see related story )...

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