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Reports are updated periodically here; but are updated and
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Environmental Defense
Testifies On NSR Rules - Mar. 31: Environmental
Defense (ED) testified at public hearings across the
country urging the U.S. EPA to withdraw proposed
"loopholes to the Clean Air Act's new source review
program." ED said that EPA's own data indicates
that pollution from industrial sources contributes to
unhealthy air pollution levels nationwide, affecting
millions of Americans. They said the
"loopholes" would hamper the ability of states
and local governments to achieve cleaner, healthier air.
ED said Under EPA's proposal, industrial facilities would
be allowed to increase air pollution "by thousands of
tons so long as the changes that cause the increased
pollution do not exceed an arbitrary cost threshold,
rather than a health standard. This cost threshold
would be an annual or multiyear 'maintenance' allowance
that is the product of the total capital costs of the
facility and a fixed maintenance percentage that could
range as high as 20%." Access an ED release (click
here).
STAPPA/ALAPCO
Testimony At NSR Hearings - Mar. 31: On Monday,
March 31, 2003, STAPPA and ALAPCO [State and Territorial
Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association
of Local Air Pollution Control Officials], will take
part in all five of the concurrent public hearings being
convened by U.S.EPA to take testimony on the Agency’s
proposed rule to revise the routine maintenance, repair
and replacement exclusion provisions of the New Source
Review program. The associations will convey to EPA
their serious concerns with the routine maintenance
proposal and ask that the Agency rescind it. Five of
the associations’ members will represent STAPPA and
ALAPCO at the hearings. Access links to all the testifiers
and their testimony (click
here).
Proposed NSR Rules Hearings -
REMINDER: March 31, 2003, the U.S. EPA will hold
five public hearings on the rule it proposed in
December 2002 related to routine maintenance, repair
and replacement under the New Source Review air
permitting program. The hearings are being held in
five cities including: Albany, NY; Dallas, TX;
Romulus, MI; Research Triangle Park, NC; and Salt
Lake City, UT. Each meeting will begin at 9:00am and
continue into the evening as necessary to
accommodate as many speakers as possible. The
written comment period has been extended and will
end May 2, 2003. Access complete details for all
hearings (click
here). Access the NSR website with complete
details on the regulations (click
here).
Enviros Sue
Over NSR Reforms - Feb. 27: A lawsuit filed by
Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of environmental
and public health groups charges that the Bush
Administration’s changes to a key provision of the
Clean Air Act is illegal and will dramatically increase
air pollution, threatening the health of millions of
Americans, The groups -- American Lung
Association, Communities for a Better Environment,
Environmental Defense, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense
Council) and the Sierra Club -- charge that on New
Year’s Eve the U.S. EPA adopted illegal changes
weakening the Clean Air Act’s “New Source Review”
program. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Court of Appeals
D.C. Circuit. Also, several groups called on EPA
Administrator Christie Whitman to reconsider and rescind
the new NSR rules. The request came in the form of an
administrative “petition for reconsideration” that
pointed out the failings in the new rules and where EPA
acted unlawfully, failed to explain or justify its
actions, and denied the public its legal right to
comment on EPA’s action. Access a detailed release (click
here). EPA Agrees To
Extend NSR Comment - Feb. 13: U.S. EPA
announced today that it is extending the comment period
on its proposed rule to provide a regulatory definition
of "routine maintenance, repair and
replacement"for the New Source Review (NSR)
Program. During this time, the agency will hold five
public hearings across the country. The November, 2002
proposed rule (published in the Federal Register on Dec.
31) would offer facilities greater flexibility to
improve and modernize their operations in ways that will
reduce energy use and air pollution. Administrator
Christie Whitman said, "We are taking this
action today to provide additional opportunity for
comment and participation. I believe that full public
participation is key to our review of the NSR
program." The
current schedule for comments is due to end on March 3.
Today's action extends the comment period by 60 days;
the closure for the extended comment period will be May
2, 2003. The details for the five public hearings will
soon be announced in a Federal Register Notice. EPA Releases NSR
Revisions - (11/22) U.S. EPA released it's
finalized rule for the New Source Review (NSR)
program. The Agency said the rule would
"increase energy efficiency and encourage
emissions reductions." EPA also announced a
proposed rule to provide a regulatory definition of
"routine maintenance, repair and
replacement." In a release, the Agency
indicated that these actions will offer facilities
greater flexibility to improve and modernize their
operations in ways that will reduce energy use and
air pollution, provide incentives to install
state-of-the-art pollution controls, and more
accurately calculate actual emissions of air
pollution. EPA also said the revisions would
remove perverse and unintended regulatory barriers
to investments in energy efficiency and pollution
control projects, while preserving the environmental
benefits of the NSR program.
[Federal
Register: December 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 251)]
U.S.
EPA Information Related To The New Source Review
Rule & Program
Posted
July 25, 2003
Sample
Opposing Responses "It
should surprise no one that EPA waited until after the
election and right before the holidays to foist this
turkey on the American people... Christmas is coming
early this year for corporate polluters." "Governor
Whitman has a good record and good intentions, but on
her watch this Administration has undertaken the biggest
rollback in Clean Air Act history and scaled back
countless other environmental protections. Time and
again, her advice has been overruled by a White House
determined to gut commonsense environmental standards.
Out of principle and protest, she should step
down." "The
Bush administration's announcement retreats from the
promise of the Clean Air Act -- fresh and healthy air
for all Americans. This rollback in the law will permit
thousands of the oldest, dirtiest smokestacks to
continue spewing out pollution rather than installing
state of the art pollution controls. It is nothing but a
special deal for the special interests. It comes at the
expense of all who breathe and most particularly our
children." "The
Bush administration's decision today to weaken the Clean
Air Act as part of its New Source Review rulemaking will
result in more air pollution from power plants and
refineries and jeopardize public health and the
environment throughout the nation. This is a decision
that will literally choke the people and wildlife of
this nation." "It
is no coincidence this decision was delayed until after
the recent elections. This may be only the first in a
series of polluter-inspired assaults against our clean
air and clean water laws." "...we
are extremely dismayed that the final reforms being
released by EPA today fail to address the issues we
raised... NSR has been a cornerstone of the clean air
program for the past 25 years. Without it,
millions of tons of additional air pollution would have
been emitted into our air." "One
of big industry’s dreams is coming true today because
the Bush administration would rather grant political
favors to its corporate contributors than fight for the
health of this nation’s environment and people.” Nine
state Attorneys General announced they will file a
federal lawsuit against the Bush Administration for
endangering air quality by gutting a critical component
of the federal Clean Air Act. The lawsuit will be filed
in federal court in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC
Circuit when the regulations are published in the
Federal Register. The AG's include: Update:
December 31, 2002: The nine state Attorneys General
filed their federal lawsuit against the Bush
Administration (click
here) Other
statements: Environmental Defense (click
here); Natural Resources Defense
Council (click
here); Other Congressional release: Senator
John Edwards (D-NC) (click
here); Representative Edward Markey
(D-MA) (click
here). Rockefeller
Family Fund, Environmental Integrity Project
has posted two documents entitled, NSR: Myth vs. Fact
(click
here) ; and More NSR Myths vs. Facts (click
here). ED
Sees NSR Vote As Indicator - Jan. 22:
The national environmental organization,
Environmental Defense (ED), sees the January 22
Senate vote on an amendement to delay the New
Source Review reforms as an indicator that
environmental issues will receive close
attention in the upcoming legislative session.
ED's Llegislative director Elizabeth Thompson
indicated, "While we are disappointed that
the Senate did not adopt the Edwards amendment,
we commend those 46 Senators who voted to delay
changes in the NSR program until the impact of
exempting power plants and other industrial
facilities from air pollution controls could be
studied. Had the votes of those senators who
were absent been added to the total in favor of
the amendment, this could have very well been a
tie vote. Today's outcome also signals
that environmental issues are going to receive
close scrutiny in this session of
Congress." Access an ED release
which list some votes of key senators (click
here). Amendment SA 67 was defeated by
a vote of 46 - 50. Access further information on
the Amendment and a link to the complete vote
record (click
here).
States
Seek Stay On NSR Rules - Feb. 6: Ten
states have filed an emergency motion for a stay,
seeking a court order to halt the implementation
of the recently announced New Source Review rules.
As the states argue in the stay motion, the
recently promulgated rules by the U.S. EPA would
exempt numerous factories and power plants from
having to reduce their air pollution. Published on
December 31, 2002, the new rules are to take
effect March 3, 2003. The states originally
filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit immediately after the
rules were published. The states say once the
rules are in effect, states may immediately need
to begin incorporating the reforms into their own
programs and some states will have to immediately
change the way they regulate major polluters. The
ensuing confusion will increase costs and delays
and compromise enforcement efforts. In addition,
companies in some states will immediately be able
to avoid installation of state-of-the-art
pollution controls that would be required but for
the new regulatory loopholes. The
states participating in the stay motion are
Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island and Vermont. Access a release (click
here).
Sample
Supporting Responses "These
improvements will give source owners the incentives and
flexibility needed to become more efficient and reduce
emissions. For more than a decade, the EPA and
stakeholders have worked to address this difficult
issue. Today's announcement is a positive step forward
for increasing energy efficiency and improving air
quality." "We
are pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency
today is starting to move the ball down the field on an
issue that has plagued us for years. But we're
frustrated that the agency has stopped short of
advancing a specific proposal that would remove the
perpetual threat of litigation hanging over the heads of
power plant operators facing difficult decisions about
whether to proceed with critical maintenance
activities." “These
rules will provide business planners with greater
certainty as they work to increase production and limit
air pollution in a cost-effective manner. By issuing
these NSR reforms, President Bush and Administrator
Whitman have signaled that it’s time to move beyond
the confusion of previous rules that kept industry
guessing for years about compliance requirements. The
doomsayers condemning the rules as an unprecedented
attack on our environment are premature at best and
disingenuous at worst.” "This
is a good first step in reforming a seriously flawed
regulatory program. These reforms will help our nation's
energy businesses improve environmental protection and
better meet America's demand for power. Today's changes
will begin to simplify an overly complex program. Plants
that have postponed needed upgrades or maintenance
because of uncertain regulatory impacts, will now have
the certainty they need to improve safety and decrease
emissions." "EPA’s
final rule is a common sense update to a twenty-five
year old program. Red tape is being eliminated and a
confusing and often contradictory regulatory program is
being simplified so industry can concentrate on cutting
energy use and reducing air emissions. The Clean Air Act
can once again be about making our air cleaner, rather
than a tortuous bureaucratic process that stifled
technological advancements." "The
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) adopts the
provisions of NGA [National Governor's Association] Policy
18.6 that relate to New Source Review. ECOS encourages
the USEPA to reform the New Source Review Regulations
into a workable regulation that is easily understood and
effectively implemented. ECOS supports reform that
strengthens the fundamental requirements of the CAA and
results in net environmental improvements, while
providing a stable planning environment for
energyproviders and consumers as well as a well-defined
planning horizon." "New
Source Review requirements should be reformed to achieve
improvements that enhance the environment and increase
energy production capacity, while encouraging energy
efficiency, fuel diversity, and the use of renewable
resources." (Article)
Harding
Defends NSR Reforms
- (11/26) In a "Letter to the Editor," MDEQ
Director Russell Harding has responded to what he calls
"rhetoric espoused by many environmental groups"
and supported the Bush Administration NSR final rule and
the proposed rule on "routine maintenance,
repair, and replacement." Harding said
the existing NSR program was "overly complicated
and inflexible," and the revised program
"will not roll back federal environmental
protection nor give companies a blank check to
pollute." He said the reforms will provide
facilities with the "flexibility to: repair,
maintain or replace aging equipment; improve reliability
and efficiency; and yes, in many cases reduce emissions.
This is a far cry from the environmental doom and gloom
message being circulated by a select few in opposition
to these much needed and welcomed reforms."
Access the complete letter (click
here).
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Copyright © 2003. Permission is granted for Internal,
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review
WIMS
Daily which provides additional information
specific to Michigan.
_____________________________________________________________________
Environmental News & Information For 23 Years Publishers of Michigan Waste Report Jeff Dauphin, President 818 Avenue D, Traverse City, MI 49686-3532 Phone: 231-932-1366, Fax: 231-932-1383 E-Mail: enusa@ecobizport.com URL: http://www.ecobizport.com |
