CAIR Alternatives under Discussion

The 11 July 2008, ruling by the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals vacating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) – see last issue of EMISSIONS MONITOR -  has led to a number of alternative plan discussions.  CAIR was a system of emissions allowance credits targeting power plants in upwind states to provide protection for downwind states facing non-attainment sanctions from stricter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).  

After the July vacature, members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discussed a legislative fix to the rule.  Ranking minority member of the committee, Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) pushed for the Clear Skies bill, introduced by President George W. Bush in 2005.  Inhofe says Clear Skies would reduce emissions of NOx, SO2 and mercury by setting a national cap on each.  The White House Council on Environmental Quality is circulating draft legislation that leans toward outright adoption of Clear Skies.  Environmental groups indicated the draft language prevents CAIR being strengthened by EPA until all appeals and challenges had been met.

Sen. Tom Carper, (D-Del) chairman of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee used the vacature as an opportunity to push his legislation for the Clean Air Planning Act (CAPA).  CAPA aims at benefiting downwind states by reducing power plant emissions so that they are able to achieve attainment.  CAPA is similar to CAIR but without the mercury cap and trade option, focusing instead on emissions cuts instead of credits.

A bipartisan group of four U.S. Senators – Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Judd Gregg (R-N .H.), and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) – urged electric companies to continue operating pollution emission controls while Congress seeks a legislative remedy to CAIR.

The DC District Court has given EPA an extension of the deadline for its response to the vacature until September 24.

EPA Identifies PM2.5 Non Attainment Areas in 25 States

In late August 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified 25 states that they have at least one area the agency considers to be in nonattainment of EPA’s 24-hour PM 2.5 (particulate matter below 2.5 microns) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).  EPA tightened the PM 2.5 standard in September 2006 from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (µ/m3) to 35 µ/m3 for all state and Indian lands.

EPA plans to make formal designations of attainment and nonattainment areas in December 2008, after states and tribes comment on the proposals and, if needed, provide additional information. Once designations take effect, they become a component of state, local and tribal governments’ efforts to reduce fine particle pollution to meet national standards. Designations also help let the public know whether their air quality is healthy.

In total the EPA identified 57 PM2.5 nonattainment areas (covering 169 whole counties and 46 partial counties) in 25 states.  

Exposure to fine particle pollution can cause serious health problems, ranging from increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency department visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, to nonfatal heart attacks, to premature death.

Many U.S. Schools in ‘Air Pollution Danger Zone’

One in three U.S. public schools is in the “air pollution danger zone,” according to research from the University of Cincinnati (UC).

UC researchers found that more than 30 percent of American public schools are within 400 meters, or a quarter mile, of major highways that consistently serve as main truck and traffic routes.

Research has shown that proximity to major highways – and thus environmental pollutants, such as diesel particulate matter – can leave school-age children more susceptible to respiratory diseases in life.

More than 8800 schools representing 6 million students were included in the survey.

CARB Releases Mitigation Plans for four Southern California Rail Yards

In late August, 2008 the California Air Resources Board (ARB) gave notice it is releasing initial draft mitigation plans for four Southern California rail yards in cooperation with BNSF Railway (BNSF) and Union Pacific Railroad (UP).  The rail yards are:  BNSF San Bernardino, BNSF Hobart (Commerce), UP Commerce, and UP Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF)/ Dolores (Long Beach).  

The public is encouraged to comment on all draft rail yard mitigation plans.

12 States Sue EPA for Failing to Regulate Oil Refinery Global Warming Pollutants

Twelve states filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late August over greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries.  The lawsuit accuses EPA of violating the Clean Air Act by refusing to issue new source performance standards for controlling CO2 emissions.  In a ruling last year the Supreme Court found that EPA had the power to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG’s) under the Clean Air Act.   EPA Administrator, Steven L. Johnson has taken the position that it is the job of Congress to regulate GHG’s.

The suit, filed in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, alleges that about 15 percent of industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, come from the refineries.  Oil refineries account for about three percent of the total energy consumption in the United States.

The states brining the suit are:  California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.