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.

OREGON'S CARBON TRADING PLAN NEEDED SOONER, ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) has signed off on the state's first-time plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but environmentalists are calling for the effort to begin at least two years earlier than scheduled. The Oregon plan -- which includes a range of energy-efficiency and emissions requirements, such as adopting California's GHG auto standard and requiring utility companies to use renewable sources of energy -- follows a series of recommendations made to the governors of all three states in...

CALPERS MAY LOOK FOR AUTOMAKER CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN GHG DISPUTE

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is threatening to probe major auto company directors for potential conflicts of interest if the companies do not sufficiently respond to their questions about the industry's lawsuit against the state air board's greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation. The pension fund board may also seek the inclusion of other major investor groups against the auto companies, pursue "proxy battles," and file an amicus brief defending the state in the lawsuit. CalPERS' investment committee agreed earlier...

ENVIRONMENTALISTS WARN AGAINST REDUCING AIR POLLUTION MONITORS

The National Park Service (NPS) will likely have to reduce the amount of monitoring it conducts at some of its sites due to budget cuts, a move that environmentalists say could have serious implications for the park service's ability to assess the air quality impacts of dozens of planned new power plants near the parks. Speaking at an EPA Office of Air & Radiation workshop earlier this month, the park service's Chris Shaver said that in parks where there have...

EPA TO BACK INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY FOR LESS FREQUENT AIR MONITORING

EPA plans to allow industry to use an air emissions monitoring technology that will dramatically reduce the frequency that facilities will have to test for pollution releases. The upcoming recommendation stems from an agreement between EPA and the utility industry on overhauling the agency's air quality monitoring program. The agency intends to issue an advanced notice proposed rulemaking in mid-January recommending that industry begin using "bag leak detectors" to alert facility operators to emissions control malfunctions. Use of the technology...

STUDY LINKING MERCURY, AUTISM PROMPTS CALLS FOR EPA TO TIGHTEN RULE

New evidence linking mercury exposure to autism in children is prompting calls for EPA to tighten its proposal to require first-time mercury reductions from the electric power sector. While the study does not claim to prove that mercury exposure causes autism, it provides further evidence that it may be a factor. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) just completed an 18-month review that finds autistic children share a near-universal trait that makes them more susceptible to mercury exposure from a variety...

ACTIVISTS CONFIDENT NAFTA PANEL WILL LAUNCH EPA MERCURY INVESTIGATION

Environmentalists say a recent request for additional information leaves them confident that a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel will launch an investigation into whether EPA is taking sufficient steps to curtail mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The panel will also consider allegations that EPA is violating the Clean Water Act because of the impact of mercury emissions on water quality. The investigation may provide environmentalists with information they could use in future legal action against EPA, including...

EMA VOWS LAWSUIT OVER CALIFORNIA DIESEL TRUCK ENGINE-FIX REGULATION

Heavy-duty engine makers are vowing to sue the California air board over its rule requiring manufacturers to fix thousands of truck engine computers to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by the end of next year. The industry argues the rule violates state and federal legal settlements for the engine fixes, and if allowed to proceed could crush the industry financially if other states choose to adopt it. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) decided to abandon a voluntary program approved...

EPA PLAN WOULD EXEMPT MANY OZONE NONATTAINMENT AREAS FROM I/M

EPA is proposing long-awaited amendments to its vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program that would exempt many areas from having to implement the unpopular vehicle emissions tests. Areas designated in basic or marginal nonattainment with the 8-hour ozone standard would not be subject to I/M program requirements, according to the proposal. The plan states that I/M programs would be needed only in areas already found to be in moderate nonattainment classifications or higher. Areas in serious or higher nonattainment must...

EPA REJECTS INDUSTRY ARGUMENT IN ASSERTING METHYL BROMIDE OVERSIGHT

EPA has rebuffed an industry argument that the agency lacks the authority to restrict access to stockpiles of the controversial pesticide methyl bromide, which could set up a legal battle over the agency's oversight of the ozone-depleting substance. At the same time, EPA has decided to allow continued use of the chemical in 2005 under a "universal cap," which would allow various sectors of the farming industry to have access to the substance. The cap differs from a targeted approach...

SENATE GOP TO ALLOW STATES TO GO BEYOND FEDERAL RULES IN CLEAR SKIES

Senate Republicans will include new language in the Clear Skies bill they are planning to re-introduce in January that allows states to require more stringent emission reductions than the pollution caps to be imposed by the federal government, sources say. Sources familiar with the change say it is aimed at winning bipartisan backing from lawmakers as well as boosting support from state and local governments, many of which are likely to demand stricter clean air rules after EPA finalizes implementation...

ARB SEEKS MEXICAN TRUCKING INDUSTRY INPUT IN BORDER INSPECTION REG

Air board staff is scheduled in February to meet with Mexican trucking industry representatives as part of the rulemaking for a new border inspection program aimed at reducing pollution when Mexico-based trucks are granted full access to U.S. roads under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The outreach to the Mexican industry is significant because the industry to this point is virtually unaware of the state law that requires the regulation, and it remains unclear whether Mexican officials may...

I/M PANEL BACKS ANNUAL TEST FOR OLDER VEHICLES, HIGH-MILEAGE CARS

The state's Smog Check program oversight panel is backing air board recommendations to seek new legal authority for annual inspections of older cars with high emissions as well as high-mileage vehicles, according to a draft report. It is unclear whether the recommendations will help spur new legislation early next year; the panel indicates that targeting high-mileage vehicles may be too controversial and technologically difficult. The draft report, released last week by the Inspection & Maintenance Review Committee (IMRC), is scheduled...

OIL INDUSTRY REVIEW DRAWS COMPETING CALLS FOR CRACKDOWNS, PERMIT RELIEF

Citing past compliance violations and a lack of tough rules on the books, environmentalists and air district officials are pressing energy commissioners to recommend new pollution crackdowns on petroleum infrastructure facilities, as part of an evolving report to the governor and Legislature. Meanwhile, oil industry representatives are reacting defensively to the environmental review, saying that any commission report should equally evaluate all other energy sectors, including hydroelectric, wind and solar power. Further, industry representatives argue that the commission's top priority...

EPA REJECTS INDUSTRY ARGUMENT IN ASSERTING METHYL BROMIDE OVERSIGHT

EPA has rebuffed an industry argument that the agency lacks the authority to restrict access to stockpiles of the controversial pesticide methyl bromide, which could set up a legal battle over the agency's oversight of the ozone-depleting substance. At the same time, EPA has decided to allow continued use of the chemical in 2005 under a "universal cap," which would allow various sectors of the farming industry to have access to the substance. The cap differs from a targeted approach...

EPA To Back Industry Technology For Less Frequent Air Monitoring

EPA plans to allow industry to use an air emissions monitoring technology that will dramatically reduce the frequency that facilities will have to test for pollution releases. The upcoming recommendation stems from an agreement between EPA and the utility industry on overhauling the agency's air quality monitoring program. The agency intends to issue an advanced notice proposed rulemaking in mid-January recommending that industry begin using "bag leak detectors" to alert facility operators to emissions control malfunctions. Use of the technology...

Pentagon Staff Say New Directive Would Ease Environmental Commitments

An environmental group that represents Pentagon employees is raising concerns that a draft military directive would ease commitments to comply with environmental regulations in the interest of training and readiness operations. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) in a statement posted on the group's website last week details a number of concerns with the draft directive, arguing that it softens language in a 1996 directive that it would replace on committing the department to complying with all environmental requirements. The...

EPA Rejects Industry Argument In Asserting Methyl Bromide Oversight

EPA has rebuffed an industry argument that the agency lacks the authority to restrict access to stockpiles of the controversial pesticide methyl bromide, a move that could set up a legal battle over the agency's oversight of the ozone-depleting substance. At the same time, EPA has decided to allow continued use of the chemical in 2005 under a "universal cap," which would allow various sectors of the farming industry to have access to the substance. The cap differs from a...

New EPA Modeling May Prompt Broader Controls On Mobile Emitters

EPA's development of a model for estimating mobile source emissions that for the first time would take into account uncertainties regarding data collection may prompt Congress to expand pollution requirements to non-motor vehicle sources, according to a key EPA official. The model under development, Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES), previously known as the New Generation Model, is a new software framework designed to ultimately replace the current model, MOBILE6. MOVES will factor in uncertainties about data and projections about future...

Senate GOP To Allow States To Go Beyond Federal Rules In Clear Skies

Senate Republicans will include new language in the Clear Skies bill they are planning to re-introduce in January to allow states to require more stringent emission reductions than the pollution caps to be imposed by the federal government, sources say. The change appears aimed at broadening support for the long-stalled bill, which Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has vowed to make a top priority in early 2005. Sources familiar with the strategy say...

EPA, DOE EYE STUDY ON BENEFITS OF COAL GASIFICATION POWER PLANTS

EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) are launching a new study on the environmental impacts of generating electricity with a clean-coal technology known as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). The study could help federal and state efforts to encourage use of the technology through environmental permits or legislation, according to EPA and industry sources. The study may examine the costs of installing additional emission controls when using the technology, which experts say could pose a significant barrier to expanding...

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