Category — EPA News

On May 12, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) presented their new 987-page American Power Act (“APA”) designed to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions by 4.75 percent by 2013, 17 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030, and 83 percent by 2050.  [Read more →]

After months of anticipation, EPA finally issued its greenhouse gas “Tailoring Rule” on Thursday, May 13, 2010.  According to EPA, the rule is necessary to “tailor” the applicability of two Clean Air Act programs – the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Operating Permit programs – to avoid impacting millions of small greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters once the first-ever GHG standards for motor vehicles take effect in 2011.  The final rule differs significantly from EPA’s original proposal (the thresholds are much higher than proposed), but the controversy remains the same:  Can EPA, via regulation, alter the definition of a term defined by statute? [Read more →]

After months of anticipation, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its 563-page proposal for regulating the disposal and management of coal combustion byproducts (“CCBs”) from coal-fired power plants.  Instead of offering a single approach, EPA requested comments on two options for regulating CCBs.  The first would regulate CCBs as a new “special waste” subject to many of the requirements for hazardous waste, while the second would regulate CCBs in a manner similar to typical solid waste, subject to far fewer and less stringent environmental requirements.  EPA would lead the first approach, the various States the second.  Either of EPA’s proposed options represents a seismic shift toward more comprehensive and expensive requirements for CCBs disposal and management.  And for certain utilities, EPA’s regulatory proposal effectively signals the end of ash pond disposal for CCBs. [Read more →]

On April 1, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued rules requiring motor vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions beginning with model year 2012 and continuing to model year 2016.  [Read more →]

Last week, the EPA finally took action to clarify the application of the “Maximum Achievable Control Technology (”MACT”) Hammer” to vacated MACT standards.  The MACT Hammer is the provision that requires existing sources to develop case-by-case MACT limits for hazardous air pollutants if EPA misses its deadline for promulgating a generally applicable MACT standard.  [Read more →]