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.

DEMOCRATS EYE BUDGET 'RIDER' FOR EPA STUDY ON MERCURY RULE

Congressional Democrats are considering plans to attach a legislative rider to EPA's upcoming budget bill that would force the agency to study alternatives to its controversial mercury emissions plan, after top officials have so far declined to move forward on this research. One House Democratic source says the rider would not ban EPA from finalizing its mercury trading proposal -- a plan critics say would delay adequate reductions for too long -- but would instead earmark funding which the agency...

SENATE STAFF EYE TAX BILL AS NEW VEHICLE TO RENEW WIND ENERGY CREDITS

Democratic and Republican staff in the Senate say renewal of a wind energy tax credit could be approved as part of catch-all tax code extension legislation if Congress fails to adopt comprehensive energy legislation or an export tax reform bill that both include the wind provisions. The energy legislation and export tax bill have been mired by partisan politics and passage this year appears uncertain at best for either proposal. With just a few weeks remaining in this year's legislative...

NAFTA PROBE OF MERCURY RULE MAY HELP POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTALIST SUIT

A request by environmentalists for a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel to investigate whether EPA's plan to regulate power plants air emissions fails to adequately enforce the Clean Water Act could provide the activists with information for future litigation against the agency's controversial mercury proposal, an environmentalist attorney tracking the issue says. The request also suggests first-time arguments that environmentalists could use in any potential lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's mercury plan on water law grounds, although the...

APPELLATE RULING MAY LIMIT GROUPS' COURT ACCESS, LEGAL EXPERTS SAY

A recent appellate ruling dismissing an environmental group's attempt to stop a Forest Service timber sale, on the grounds that a different environmental group had already sought to litigate the issue, sets a disturbing precedent that could block environmental and industry groups' access to courts, legal experts and some environmentalists warn. These sources say the ruling may set a precedent by expanding a legal doctrine -- known as privity -- used to determine when parties in litigation share similar interests...

EPA LIKELY TO SEEK FULL APPELLATE REVIEW OF RARE AIR RULE 'VACATUR'

EPA is planning to appeal a precedent-setting federal appellate decision vacating a clean air rule because agency officials fear it could set a dangerous precedent for immediately vacating defective air quality standards rather than remanding them to the agency for reconsideration, sources tracking the issue say. EPA is particularly worried that if the ruling is allowed to stand, future courts can rely on the precedent to vacate rules that could be easily remedied, leaving the agency without any standard and...

COLORADO AGREES TO STUDY IMPACT OF AIR RULES ON ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARK

Colorado officials are undertaking an unusual effort to examine the impacts of pending federal pollution standards on air quality in Rocky Mountain National Park, acknowledging that they have not determined how a host of major initiatives would impact one of the most polluted parks in the West. If the state finds that future air standards will fail to protect the park, it could recommend additional controls on pollution sources in the state if officials show the controls would improve air...

PRO-ETHANOL GROUPS CITE LOW SMOG WHILE CARB SHOWS HIGH EMISSIONS

The battle over whether ethanol helps or hurts air quality is intensifying in California as a pro-ethanol group is pointing to the lowest smog levels in a decade during the first year that the state's ethanol use grew dramatically, while the state's air resources board released a report that "confirms" the corn-based additive increases vehicle emissions. The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) September report, Fuel Permeation from Automotive Systems, found, "Emissions increased on all 10 vehicle fuels systems studied when...

LEADING HOUSE REPUBLICAN DRAFTS BILL TO CURB REGIONAL CLEAN FUELS

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) has revised earlier legislation limiting the number of regional clean fuels with new provisions that could prompt EPA to reduce the number of fuels nationally and expand the previous bill's emergency waiver provision, according to draft legislation obtaine by Inside Washington Publishers . Some sources tracking the issue say the legislation could be introduced this week, but it is unclear whether he will seek a vote on the measure, try to attach it to...

NEW YORK, ENVIRONMENTALISTS PRESS INSURERS TO TARGET CLIMATE RISKS

Environmentalists and some New York state officials are pressuring major insurance companies to develop policies to reduce financial risks posed by climate change. Following three major hurricanes that hit Florida and the Gulf Coast, environmentalists are urging states to insist that insurers develop adequate reserves that deal with natural disasters that may stem from climate change. But conservatives are emphasizing statements from some state climatologists disputing claims that the hurricanes are linked to global warming. Meanwhile, two New York state...

EPA SEEKS TO RESTORE REDUCTIONS IN PM RESEARCH FUNDING FOR FY2005

EPA officials are working with Senate lawmakers to restore funding cuts to its particulate matter (PM) research program after the House cut $4.7 million from the Bush administration's roughly $59 million fiscal year 2005 budget request for the research. The move comes as the Senate Appropriations Committee Sept. 21 approved a bill that boosts EPA's science and technology account by $69 million above the administration's requested level, but it was not clear whether any of that increase could be applied...

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES CONTROVERSIAL GREENHOUSE GAS PLAN

Outgoing New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (D) announced a Sept. 16 proposal to redefine carbon dioxide (CO2) as an air contaminant, taking a dig at EPA, which last year concluded just the opposite. "While the Bush administration refuses to confront the serious consequences of rising greenhouse gas levels, New Jersey is taking the first steps toward real, regional initiatives that will reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions," McGreevey said in a statement. Under the proposal, the state's Department of Environmental Protection...

USDA FINALIZES RULE TO EXPAND METHYL BROMIDE 'QUARANTINE EXEMPTION'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sept. 16 finalized its proposal to expand the use of methyl bromide's so-called quarantine exemption, calling for all imported wood packaging material to be either heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide, which is otherwise banned. "This change will affect all persons using wood packaging material in connection with importing goods into the Untied States," the final rule says. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. The plan prompted concerns from senior government officials and...

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY SEEKS TO DOWNPLAY INDOOR AIR RISKS IN EPA GUIDANCE

The oil industry is developing recommendations on assessing the health risks posed by petroleum-related air toxins in an effort to downplay EPA risk estimates in an upcoming guidance on how to limit indoor air contamination caused by leaking underground storage tanks (USTs). The American Petroleum Institute (API) is completing a document that it will present to EPA for inclusion as part of an appendix to its controversial guidance on addressing so-called vapor intrusion, which refers to indoor air contamination resulting...

Coal Lobby Challenges Analysis Behind Northeast Talks For CO2 Cap

A group that promotes coal-fired generation of electricity is trying to bypass discussions among Northeast state staff on developing a regional carbon dioxide emissions cap -- by urging higher ranking state officials to intervene in an ongoing economic analysis that would support CO2 controls. The revisions sought by the group would raise the estimated costs of proceeding with the precedent-setting CO2 plan. In a Sept.17 letter to the head of the New York Public Service Commission (PSC), the Center for...

Senate Panel's Bill Provides Exemptions From Data Quality Act

Senators have included a little-noticed provision in the spending bill for the Commerce Department barring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from implementing controversial data quality guidelines, which affect EPA and other federal agencies. If enacted, the provision could bar future challenges to NOAA studies on a range of issues, including climate change. Industry officials are objecting to the language, which they call an obstacle to implementing the Information Quality Act, saying the provision could thwart an outside party...

Leading House Republican Drafts Broad Bill To Curb Regional Clean Fuels

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) appears to be revising an earlier bill that would limit the number of regional clean fuels with new provisions that could prompt EPA to reduce the number of fuels nationally and expand the previous bill's emergency waiver provision to cover a range of fuel programs regulated under the Clean Air Act. Some sources tracking the issue say the legislation could be introduced this week, but it is unclear whether he will seek a vote...

ACTIVISTS' BID FOR NAFTA INQUIRY MAY BACK FUTURE SUIT ON MERCURY PLAN

Environmentalists' bid for a NAFTA panel to investigate whether EPA is adequately enforcing the Clean Water Act by limiting emissions from coal-fired power plants could provide the groups with information to be used in future litigation against EPA's controversial mercury emissions control plans, an environmental attorney tracking the issue says. The bid also suggests first-time water law arguments environmentalists could use in future litigation against the Bush administration's mercury emissions control plan, although the environmental attorney stresses that groups have...

New Ethanol Study Seen Bolstering California Push For Fuel Waivers

A new study that found high emission increases from California vehicles running on ethanol-treated reformulated gasoline (RFG) may intensify the state's push for a wavier to the federal RFG oxygen mandate, sources tracking the issue say. California officials have argued for several years that refiners should be given maximum flexibility to meet the state's strict RFG pollutant emission limits, including the ability to produce non-oxygenated fuel if they desire. The state is awaiting a decision by EPA on whether it...

NAFTA Probe Of Mercury Rule May Help Potential Suit By Environmentalists

A request by environmentalists for a NAFTA panel to investigate whether EPA's plan to regulate power plants fails to adequately enforce the Clean Water Act could provide the activists with information for future litigation against the agency's controversial mercury proposal, an environmental attorney tracking the issue says. The request also suggests first-time water law arguments that environmentalists could use in any potential lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's mercury plan, although the attorney stresses that groups have not made any determinations...

Administration's Analysis On Controlling Drift Could Weaken Various Air Rules

The Bush administration's decision to include a controversial analysis that finds reduced benefits for controlling particulate matter (PM) under the agency's upcoming rule to limit drift could weaken requirements for reducing the pollutant through other air regulations. EPA sources say the analysis could undermine future agency arguments about the cost-effectiveness of limiting particulates through technology-based standards on power plants, exhaust controls for vehicles, and other measures. The analysis lowers EPA's current estimate for reducing PM emissions in its Clean Air...

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