The Adirondack Council's Summary
of the EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule Formerly the Proposed
Interstate Air Quality Rule
Federal Register- January
30, 2004
Click
to See the Council's Position on the Clean Air Interstate Rule
Outlined below is a brief summary
prepared by the staff of the Adirondack Council of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Clean Air Interstate
Rule (CAIR) formerly the Proposed Interstate Air Quality Rule
that places new regional caps on power plant emissions of sulfur
and nitrogen in 29 states and the District of Columbia. USEPA
published the proposed regulation in the Federal Register on
January 30, 2004 and the final rule was issued on March 10, 2005.
Readers are encouraged not to
rely on this summary alone. EPA's website, www.epa.gov/interstateairquality
has links to the full text of the rule as well as the details
on the hearings, technical data and analysis conducted by USEPA.
The Rule
USEPA new Clean Air Interstate
Rule (CAIR) limits emissions from power plants in the region
that contribute to the formation of ozone and particulate air
pollution. The identified pollutants are the same as those that
contribute to acid rain - sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Emissions of sulfur dioxide will
be capped by adding two new phases to the existing acid rain
cap and trade program. Nitrogen oxide emissions will also be
subject to a new cap and trade program. The regional twenty-two
(22) state nitrogen cap and trade program, that was designed
to control summer ozone only, which will go into effect in 2004,
will be merged into this new year-round control program. Power
plants will be regulated in the eastern half of the country where
the emissions from one state drift downwind and contribute substantially
to the air pollution problems of other states.
The caps are on total emissions
in the region. USEPA will issue a fixed number of pollution credits,
a portion of which will be allocated to each plant operating
within the 29 states subject to this rule. Companies will then
be allowed to buy or sell credits, as under the existing acid
rain program, but the number of credits needed for each ton of
pollution will double and later triple.
Sulfur dioxide emissions from
power plants in the region will be cut 50% from 2002 levels in
the region by 2010 and by 71% by 2015. Nitrogen emissions from
power plants in the region will also be reduced in two phases,
to levels 65% below current emissions by 2015.
With CAIR, the USEPA is acting
under its existing authority to regulate ozone and particulates,
under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). That provision
allows USEPA to intervene when the interstate transport of pollutants,
drifting from one state to another, substantially contributes
to the pollution levels of states downwind, making it difficult
for the downwind states to meet ambient air quality standards
on their own. States in the 29 state eastern region would be
obliged to amend their state implementation plans (SIP) to implement
the new regional caps on sulfur and nitrogen. While any state
would have the option to meet targets through its own approach,
participation in a multi-state cap and trade program would be
encouraged. USEPA will prepare a model cap and trade program
for states to adopt in a supplemental publication in the federal
register.
USEPA has stated that it would
prefer that Congress pass legislation, not only because it would
lessen the prospects for litigation, but also because Congress
could streamline the process. USEPA does have an affirmative
obligation under the CAA to act on interstate transport on behalf
of the downwind states, and therefore has elected to proceed
under Section 110.
The Impact
USEPA predicts that this rule
will substantially reduce particulate and ozone pollution in
downwind states, allowing a substantial number of counties now
out of compliance for particulates and ozone to meet air quality
standards without further action. The benefits will be significant
in terms of human health and in ecological health.
Benefits to Human Health
Health benefits to the population
of the Eastern United States will be substantial, easily exceeding
costs by ten-fold. The impacts of particulates and ozone on human
health are well-chronicled in the supporting documents produced
for this proposal. The Agency also predicts a substantial reduction
in mercury emissions as a co-benefit to the sulfur and nitrogen
reductions. Mercury also poses a threat to human health and wildlife.
Ecological Benefits
The ecological gains will also
be substantial. The new rule will reduce the airborne deposition
of nitrogen to watersheds, where nitrogen contributes to crop
damage and eutrophication of water bodies like Long Island Sound
and Chesapeake Bay.
The rule, USEPA predicts, will improve visibility in many parts
of the eastern U.S, including National Parks like the Great Smoky
Mountains.
The Built Environment
CAIR will also aid historic preservation
by reducing acid and particulate deposition that damages cultural
monuments and other materials.
Acid Rain
The new rule will implement cuts
in sulfur and nitrogen emissions that will decrease the percentage
of chronically acidic lakes generally in the Northeast from 6%
to 1%. Modeling conducted by the USEPA predicts that the number
of chronically acidic lakes in the more sensitive Adirondack
Mountain region will be reduced to zero by 2030. The Agency says
it is likely that there will be positive effects on the health
and productivity of forest systems in the region.
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