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September 17-23, 2022
In this week's issue:
- EPA to Issue Supplemental NPRM on GHG Standards Portion of Heavy-Duty Truck Rule Proposed in March 2022 (September 21, 2022)
- CARB Releases Proposed In-Use Locomotive Regulation, Schedules November 17 Public Hearing (September 20, 2022)
- D.C. Circuit Orders ACE Rule Litigants to Propose Next Steps Following Supreme Court’s West Virginia Decision (September 19, 2022)
- Senator Manchin Unveils Permitting Reform Bill (September 21, 2022)
- Senate Ratifies Kigali HFC Treaty (September 21, 2022)
- DOE Launches Industrial Earthshot (September 21, 2022)
- Study: Extreme Heat Saps Cities’ Economic Productivity (September 22, 2022)
This Week in Review
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EPA announced it will issue, later this year, a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) for a portion of the heavy-duty (HD) truck rule proposed in March 2022 and anticipated to become final by the end of this calendar year (2022). EPA says it is taking this action because the substantial level of funding provided in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (including for commercial ZEVs, infrastructure and reduced battery costs) will enable more rigorous model year (MY) 2027-2029 HD truck greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards than EPA contemplated in the March proposal (the agency proposed GHG standards for MY 2027 and requested comment on standards for MYs 2028-2029). Therefore, EPA is bifurcating the HD truck rule into two separate rules: one addressing NOx (and other criteria pollutants) and the other addressing GHGs. The agency has stated clearly that the NOx portion continues to move forward to a final rulemaking as planned. EPA expects to send the final HD truck NOx rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review in the next four to six weeks or so with the goal of EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan signing that final rule by the end of 2022 so it will take effect with MY 2027. In the forthcoming SNPRM, EPA will propose MY 2027-2029 HD truck GHG standards that are tighter than those the agency proposed in March and also share the analysis on which those supplemental proposed standards are based. EPA’s desired timing is that the supplemental GHG NPRM and final NOx rule be sent to, and accepted for interagency review by, OMB at the same time this fall and that both actions be signed by the Administrator by the end of this calendar year. In an email sharing this development with state, local and regional government associations (and forwarded to NACAA members), EPA wrote, “The Inflation Reduction Act and its incentives for zero-emission vehicles are now creating a tremendous opportunity for improved environmental performance from the heavy-duty vehicle sector and EPA is working to ensure our rules capture this enormous potential. To take advantage of this acceleration and as informed by comments on EPA’s earlier proposal, the agency will be issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking later this year to consider more stringent GHG standards for model years 2027-2029 than those originally proposed in March 2022.”
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) made available for public review and comment the agency’s Proposed In-Use Locomotive Regulation and announced it will hold a public hearing on November 17, 2022 to consider the proposal. The purpose of this proposed statewide regulation is to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants and greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives in use. CARB says the proposal “provides an opportunity for California railroads to better address regional pollution and long-standing environmental justice concerns with communities near railyards and other areas where locomotives operate” with the goal of achieving “public health, air quality, and climate benefits by requiring the transition of the oldest diesel-powered locomotives to cleaner technologies including [zero-emission] ZE technology.” Key components of the proposed regulation include establishment of a spending account to be funded by locomotive operators based on each locomotive’s annual usage and emission factors; the emission factors reflect estimates of the health cost burden on residents of the state due to a locomotive’s emissions. Use of funds in the spending account is limited to 1) the purchase, lease or rental of, or remanufacture or repower to, Tier 4 or cleaner locomotives until 2030; 2) the purchase, lease or rental of ZE locomotives, ZE-capable locomotives or ZE rail equipment, or repower to ZE or ZE-capable locomotives; 3) the purchase of ZE infrastructure to support ZE locomotives, ZE-capable locomotives or ZE rail equipment; and 4) the pilot demonstration of ZE locomotives or ZE rail equipment. With respect to in-use operational requirements, beginning January 1, 2030, only locomotives with original engine build dates less than 23 years may operate in California and all switcher and passenger and industrial locomotives with an original engine build date of 2030 or later must operate in a ZE configuration in the state. Beginning January 1, 2035, all line haul locomotive with an original engine build date of 2035 or later must operate in a ZE configuration in California. The proposal also requires CARB staff, in 2027 and 2032, to assess the progress made in ZE technologies for use with switch, industrial, passenger and freight line haul locomotives and the status of infrastructure improvements that may be necessary to support ZE and ZE-capable locomotives. The proposal also limits (with certain exceptions) locomotive idling in California to no more than 30 minutes, after which the engine must be shut down. There are also proposed requirements for annual submission by operators of reports on locomotive operations. Oral and written comments on the proposal may be presented during the November 17 public hearing. Written comments provided outside of the public hearing must be received by CARB by November 7, 2022.
For further information:
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2022/locomotive?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery and
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/locomotive22/appa.pdf and
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/locomotive22/notice.pdf
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2022 decision in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered litigants in American Lung Association v. EPA and consolidated cases challenging EPA’s 2019 Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule to file motions to govern future proceedings by October 2, 2022. The ACE Rule and its predecessor, the Clean Power Plan (CPP), are the rules promulgated by the Trump and Obama Administrations, respectively, regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. In West Virginia, the Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit’s January 2021 decision that vacated the ACE Rule and CPP repeal. Focusing on the CPP, the Supreme Court held that Section 111(d) does not authorize EPA to employ a regulatory approach that relies on “generation shifting” to limit GHG emissions from power plants. The Court remanded the cases to the D.C. Circuit for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. Currently, the cases are being held in abeyance while EPA engages in a rulemaking action to replace the ACE Rule with a new Section 111(d) rule for existing power plants.
For further information: https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/ALA-v-EPA-Order-9-19-22.pdf
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) released a bill designed to speed the permitting of energy and natural resources projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act. Titled the “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022,” the bill sets a two-year target for the completion of NEPA reviews for major energy and natural resources projects that require environmental impact statements and a one-year target for projects that require an environmental assessment. It also establishes a 150-day statute of limitations for court challenges and requires courts to set schedules of no more than 180 days for agencies to act on remanded or vacated permits. Section 3 of the bill would require the President to designate a rolling list of 25 energy projects of “strategic national importance” for priority federal review. The bill would modify Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to require states to make decisions on certification requests within one year, among other things. It also gives the federal government increased permitting authority for transmission lines. In addition, the bill would require federal agencies to issue all approvals and permits necessary to complete construction of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 303-mile pipeline to transport natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia. As part of a deal to secure Manchin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act, Democratic leadership agreed to tie the bill to a budget resolution that must pass by the end of the end of the fiscal year on September 30, but its passage is uncertain in the face of growing opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
For further information: https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/EISAof2022.pdf
In a bipartisan 69-27 vote, the U.S. Senate has voted to ratify an amendment to the Montreal Protocol that would cut the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a major greenhouse gas (GHG). The vote clears the way for the U.S. to join 136 other nations and the European Union in approving the deal. The vote ratified the 2016 Kigali amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances, and includes specific targets and timetables to replace HFCs with climate-friendly alternatives and prohibits trade in in HFCs. The amendment requires countries to reduce their use of HFCs by 85 percent over 15 years, mirroring requirements adopted domestically by the U.S. Senate in the AIM Act of 2021 (see related story in the September 18-24, 2001 edition of the Washington Update).
For further information:
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00343.htm
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched has launched a sixth “Earthshot” effort to significantly cut emissions associated with energy-intensive industrial heating by 2035. DOE aims to develop cost-competitive decarbonization technologies to help cut emissions from industrial heating by at least 85 percent by 2035. Industrial heating is used in manufacturing of materials including plastics, cement and steel and accounted for 9 percent of U.S CO2 emissions. The new Earthshot will be focused on three key pathways: Electrifying heating operations; integrating low-emission heat sources such as geothermal energy, concentrated solar power or nuclear energy; and developing low- or no-heat process technologies. According to DOE, this would reduce 575 million metric tons of CO2 from the U.S. industrial sector, equivalent to the annual emissions from all passenger cars currently on the road.
For further information:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/earth-shot-industrial-heat-fact-sheet.pdf
New research from the Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Foundation, a non-profit think tank, finds that increases in average surface temperature drains tens of billions of dollars in economic productivity every year from cities globally. The report, “Hot Cities, Chilled Economies: Impacts of Extreme Heat on Global Cities” estimates that annual worker productivity losses amounted to $44 billion in the 12 cities across the world included in the research – rising to $84 billion by 2050 without action to reduce the effects of climate change. “Heat can cause direct work interruptions where regulation or employer policies stop work to protect workers from dangerous conditions”, the report says, “Even during active working time, the body’s natural self-regulation under conditions of heat stress may cause people to move more slowly to conserve effort and energy. Workers in hot conditions are more prone to mistakes and reduced decision-making capacity, which can have impacts as minor as needing to redraft a document or as severe as causing injury or death.” In addition, these losses to productivity also affect sales, income, and real estate tax revenues: as losses grow, they will increasingly constrain cities’ fiscal headroom for investment in public services and infrastructure. According to the report, productivity losses in Miami will increase from $10 billion today to $20 billion by 2050; in Los Angeles they will increase from $5 billion today to $11 billion in 2050, according to the study.
For further information:
https://onebillionresilient.org/hot-cities-chilled-economies/