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.

USDA Proposes Extending Methyl Bromide 'Quarantine Exemption' To Domestic Use

The Bush administration is proposing to expand the so-called "quarantine exemption" for the ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide under the Montreal Protocol to allow its use in domestic agriculture shipments. Until now, the exemption has only been used to allow the pesticide to be sprayed on international shipments of nursery plants and crops. The move comes as House Republicans and pesticide industry groups are pressing the administration to seek increased allowances for the pesticide under the protocol's "critical use exemption" ahead...

WEST COAST TO SEEK FUNDING FOR EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF DIESEL RULES

California, Washington, Oregon and Alaska are seeking $100 million from EPA and other federal agencies to help pay for early implementation of EPA's diesel rules for vehicles -- including trucks, buses, trains, boats, and farm and construction equipment, EPA sources and environmentalists say. Additionally, staff in EPA regions IX and X along with staff from the four states' environment departments are drafting a letter that will outline the major goals of the West Coast Diesel Emission Reduction Collaborative and seek...

JUDGES REJECT ACTIVISTS' EFFORT TO BROADEN SCOPE OF BUSH NSR REFORM

In one of the first legal decisions on the issue, EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) has rebuffed an environmental group's effort to use a revised definition of what constitutes an "emissions unit" under the Bush administration's 2002 new source review (NSR) reforms to seek upgraded pollution controls at a power plant. The board's Aug. 3 decision in In re: Rochester Public Utilities is one of the first interpreting the new definition of what constitutes an "emissions unit" subject to NSR,...

DOUBTS RAISED ON EPA PACT TO REVIEW BATON ROUGE RFG REQUIREMENTS

EPA has agreed to reconsider Baton Rouge's request to waive a federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) requirement even though the Clean Air Act bars such waivers for "severe" ozone nonattainment areas like the Louisiana city, prompting EPA and some oil industry officials to question whether the agency can waive the requirement. An EPA Region VI source says the agreement takes the agency into "uncharted territory. To my knowledge, no process exists" to consider waiving a program that is required by the...

EPA Decision To Reconsider Baton Rouge's Clean Fuel Waiver Request Raises Doubts

EPA has agreed to reconsider Baton Rouge's request to waive a federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) requirement even though the Clean Air Act bars such waivers for "severe" ozone nonattainment areas like the Louisiana city, prompting EPA and some oil industry officials to question whether the agency can waive the requirement. An EPA Region 6 source says the agreement takes the agency into "uncharted territory. To my knowledge, no process exists" to consider waiving a program that is required by the...

WEST COAST TO SEEK FUNDING FOR EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF DIESEL RULES

California, Washington and Oregon are seeking $100 million from EPA to fund early implementation of the agency's diesel rules for vehicles -- including trucks, buses, trains, boats, and farm and construction equipment, EPA sources and environmentalists say. Additionally, staff in EPA regions IX and X along with staff at the three states' environment departments are drafting a letter that will be sent to the entire West Coast congressional delegation seeking even more federal funding, one EPA source says. The letter...

EPA OPENS DOOR TO FINALIZING CAFO AIR PACT WITHOUT PUBLIC INPUT

EPA officials may bar the public from commenting on a controversial agreement temporarily exempting concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) from enforcement, despite a commitment to a key Democratic senator last year that the agency would seek public comment on a draft version of the agreement before it was finalized. One EPA source would not discuss specific plans on the agreement, but said the agency has made no final decisions on its release. "We're still considering how to proceed with this,"...

ACTIVISTS TO SEEK HIGH COURT REVIEW OF IDAHO CROP BURNING DECISION

Idaho environmentalists are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court a case that unsuccessfully challenged a state law blocking the right to file nuisance lawsuits over crop residue burning, a practice they argue creates devastating short-term air quality impacts. The move comes after the state's high court rejected their argument that the law violated their rights under the Idaho and U.S. constitutions. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled against the groups Aug. 2 in the case Lawrence "Bud" Moon Jr. et...

MANUFACTURERS PUSH PLAN TO LIMIT SCOPE OF EPA TRANSPORT RULES

Large industrial emission sources such as industrial boilers, chemical plants and paper companies are urging EPA to apply an unusual benchmark in order to limit the types of facilities covered by the clean air interstate rule (CAIR) and future initiatives to restrict interstate transport of air pollution. The manufacturing groups are seeking to restrict these rules to sources they believe contribute the bulk of emissions, most notably power plants. To this end, the groups are backing a proposal in EPA's...

TECHNOLOGY TO MEET EPA NOX RULE MAY POSE CHALLENGES FOR UTILITIES

A new emissions reduction technology known as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) that utilities are effectively required to use in complying with nitrogen oxide (NOx) standards for the Eastern United States could create unintended air pollution, a problem that surfaced recently when a major power company was forced to shut down some SCR units at an Indiana facility. One industry source says utilities are "on [their] way to installing hundreds of these SCRs" to comply with the NOx rule and "there...

INDUSTRY QUESTIONS EPA CALL TO LOWER NEW POWER PLANTS' SO2 LIMITS

Power plants may be unable to meet stringent sulfur emissions limits EPA regions are asking states to include in a number of draft permits for proposed new power plants -- limits that EPA argues correct state reliance on data that underestimate emissions standards achievable by the facilities. In comments on proposed new power plants, EPA regions VII and VIII said earlier this year that states should set lower sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions limits because the proposed power plants at issue...

RESEARCH TYING AIR POLLUTION TO WESTERN DROUGHT MAY PROMPT EPA STUDY

New research showing a link between transported air pollution and drought could bolster staff calls within EPA's research office to study the growing body of scientific evidence linking this pollution to broader disruptions in weather patterns, agency sources say. Government officials say that if research suggesting weather patterns are at risk from transported emissions is borne out, it could prompt EPA to propose more stringent pollution control measures than are called for in its proposal to curb long-range transport of...

DOE EXPECTED TO DELAY FINAL CLIMATE REGISTRY UNTIL AFTER ELECTION

The Department of Energy (DOE) has delayed revisions to a high-profile, voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program, making it unlikely that the department will meet a prior commitment to finalize the proposal around the time of the November election. The delay means the Bush administration may be open to criticism for failing to finish the registry, given that the president cited the program as an urgent priority during an address on climate change in early 2002. The registry is intended to...

FIRST-TIME CALIFORNIA CLIMATE RULE TO FACE INDUSTRY CHALLENGE

California air regulators have released a sure-to-be-litigated proposal for the nation's first regulation controlling greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, estimating the requirements would add $292 to the cost of cars and $308 to light trucks during the first phase of the rule, which would begin in 2009. The auto industry has already threatened to file a lawsuit claiming the state exceeded its authority in developing the standards, and sources say lawyers are going through the 1,000-page proposal and accompanying report...

STATES BLAST EPA FOR LIMITED TIME TO REVIEW MAJOR CAIR MODEL CHANGES

State groups are angry with EPA for changing the modeling method used to estimate pollution reductions achievable under the clean air interstate rule (CAIR) without giving stakeholders enough time to comment. The groups say that using new modeling data to support an already-proposed rule is highly unusual and potentially problematic, adding they cannot evaluate in the 21 days EPA is allowing for comment whether the complex modifications are accurate and appropriate. "Clearly, to suggest that anything this exhaustive ought to...

Critics Say EPA's 'Residual Risk' Air Toxics Plan Fails To Protect Public Health

EPA's proposal for the first-ever "residual risk" air toxics standard could set important precedents for upcoming rules of the same kind, according to environmentalists who charge that the methods EPA used to set the residual risk limits are insufficient to protect public health. However, EPA officials defend the landmark plan by saying it does everything feasible to lower health risks from industrial facilities. At issue is the agency's proposed residual risk standard for coke oven batteries, which the agency unveiled...

DOE Expected To Delay Final Greenhouse Gas Plan Until After Election

The Department of Energy (DOE) has delayed revisions to a high-profile, voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program, making it unlikely that the department will meet a prior commitment to finalize the proposal around the time of the November election, according to DOE and industry officials. The delay means the Bush administration may be open to criticism for failing to finish the registry, given that the president cited the program as an urgent priority during an address on climate change in early...

States Blast EPA For Short Time To Review Model Changes For Interstate Air Rule

State groups are angry with EPA for changing the modeling method used to estimate pollution reductions achievable under the clean air transport rule without giving stakeholders enough time to comment. The groups say that using new modeling data to support an already-proposed rule is highly unusual and potentially problematic, adding they cannot evaluate in the 21 days EPA is allowing for comment whether the complex modifications are accurate and appropriate. "Clearly, to suggest that anything this exhaustive ought to have...

MIGRATORY BIRD RULE FOR MILITARY HEAVILY CRITICIZED IN PUBLIC COMMENTS

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is facing significant opposition on its proposed rule giving the military a blanket authorization to incidentally kill or harm migratory birds during training activities, despite Congress' explicit call for the exclusion. FWS received more than 500 comments on its proposal to effectively exempt DOD from the regulatory requirements of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for the "take" of migratory birds through military readiness activities, such as training. Take in this case refers...

NEW EPA GUIDE ON IMMUNOLOGICAL RISKS MAY TIGHTEN EXPOSURE LIMITS

EPA is planning new guidance to weigh for the first time how chemical exposures may increase human susceptibility to diseases by disrupting the immune system, a key agency official said late last month. The upcoming guidance could in time make such information on indirect health effects a key part of agency risk assessments and lead to stricter limits for chemicals. EPA currently does not consider such effects in deciding acceptable risk levels for chemical exposures because it lacks methods for...

Pages

Not a subscriber? Request 30 days free access to exclusive environmental policy reporting.