On July 6, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its "Transport Rule" to help reduce the pollutants that cause acid rain, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). This new rule is the result of a 2008 court action, which remanded the previous rule, known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, or CAIR, back to the EPA to fix flaws in the rule.

The Transport Rule will reduce emissions in 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia. There are 2 phases set up for sulfur dioxide reductions, the first beginning in 2012 and the second in 2014. For NOX reductions, the cuts would all take place in 2012.

EPA estimates that the Transport Rule, along with other actions, will reduce levels of SO2 by 6.3 million tons from 2005 levels and NOX by 1.4 million tons. The human health and welfare benefits will outweigh the costs by a ratio of at least 50:1 and avoiding tens of thousands of premature deaths annually.

For more information on the Transport Rule, go to www.epa.gov/airtransport.