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January 28 – February 3, 2023
In this week's issue:
- EPA Takes Final Action on “Good Neighbor” SIPs for 2015 Ozone NAAQS (January 31, 2023)
- Midwestern AGs Press EPA to Take Regulatory Action on State Requests to Allow Wintertime Sale of E15 (January 27, 2023)
- DOT Awards Grants Under BIL for Electric or Low-Emission Ferries (January 26, 2023)
- House and Senate Hearings Highlight Future Possible Focus on Permitting Reform (February 2, 2023)
- EPA Announces February 21-22 Public Hearing on PM NAAQS Proposal, February 16 Registration Deadline (January 31, 2023)
- EPA Denies NACAA Request for Extension of Comment Period for Proposed Supplemental Methane Rulemaking (February 3, 2023)
This Week in Review
![](https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/Jefferson-Monument-3-492x328.jpeg)
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan signed a single final national action fully disapproving 19 good neighbor State Implementation Plans (SIP) – also known as interstate transport SIPs – for the 2015 ozone NAAQS and partially approving and partially disapproving two others. (January 31, 2023 was the court-ordered deadline for EPA action on the submittals.) The states for which the SIPs were disapproved are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. The states for which SIPs were partially approved and partially disapproved are Minnesota and Wisconsin. The pre-publication version of the final rule, technical support document, response to comments and modeling information, including a link to the modeling site with instructions on how to access the modeling files, are available on EPA’s website. In a related action, the court has granted EPA’s request for an extension of time – until December 2023 – to take action on three additional good neighbor SIP submittals, from Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming.
For further information:
The Attorneys General (AG) of seven Midwest states sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging prompt action on notifications made last year by 10 Governors seeking year-round sale of E15 in their respective jurisdictions. Under CAA section 211(h), EPA is to promulgate, within 90 days of such notifications accompanied by supporting documents, regulations allowing the year-round sale of E15. EPA received most of the notifications in April 2022 – over nine months ago. In their recent letter, the AGs urge that EPA “comply with the law and issue the mandated regulations so that E15 ethanol will be available this summer” and write that “[w]ithout prompt action, there is a risk that E15 gasoline will not be available during the 2023 summer driving season and vehicle emissions will be higher than if EPA followed its obligations under the Clean Air Act.” The AGs concluded their letter, which was also sent to Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, by writing, “Given the importance of this issue, the undersigned Attorneys General call on the Administrator and the Office for Management and Budget to promulgate regulations as required by the Clean Air Act by the end of January. That deadline will allow each of the undersigned states to enjoy the cost and air-quality benefits of year-round E15 through the 2023 summer driving season.” The AGs who signed the letter are from Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
For further information:
https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/media/cms/Attorneys_General_Letter_to_EPA_and_9A2E3CDB646A1.pdf
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that it is awarding nearly $100 million to seven projects in seven states under its Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Electric or Low-Emitting Ferry Pilot Program, which provides competitive funding for projects that support the purchase of electric or low-emitting ferries and the electrification of or other reduction of emissions from existing ferries. The program is funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Award recipients are the Alaska Department of Transportation; Georgia Department of Transportation; Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MA and NH); City of Annapolis (MD); Maine Department of Transportation; New Jersey Transit Corporation; and Washington State Department of Transportation.
For further information:
https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/biden-harris-administration-announces-more-380-million-grants-modernize-ferry-services, https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/grant-programs/fta-ferry-grant-program-2022-selected-projects
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A hearing on Monday, January 31, 2023, by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce focused on permitting reform possibilities, while in its first full Committee Hearing on Thursday, February 2, 2023, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee challenged a Biden appointee witness about the administration’s permitting policies. Chair Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) opened the House Committee hearing with a note of caution about the international dimensions to energy policy and the roles played by China and Russia, calling for action on reforms to “unleash American energy” including opening the strategic petroleum reserve and federal lands for fossil fuel exploration, reducing regulations on natural gas, and enabling a renaissance for nuclear energy, which she noted would, among other benefits, help address air pollution and climate change. She also announced that the Committee would shortly consider a number of bills proposed by republicans, including to repeal sections of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) that would eliminate its methane emissions fee and repeal the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Ranking Member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) opened with remarks calling for bipartisan action moving toward the transition to clean energy so that “America is not left behind” by investments made by China and others. In a hearing lasting over five hours, three Republican witnesses (including a former undersecretary of the Department of Energy) provided testimony on the need for the committee to develop a permitting reform plan streamlining regulations on domestic energy infrastructure projects. The Democratic witness, the former majority staff director of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, agreed that permitting reform should be the top priority for the committee so the country can meet its clean energy goals, but focused on advancing renewable energy. “I think there does need to be more focus on grid enhancement,” she said. The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met to question Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, who defended responded to questions about a potential subsidy to a U.S. lithium-ion battery producer, Microvast, with ties to China. Turk also addressed lawmaker concerns about regulating gas stoves and the pace of disbursement of IRA funds. However, permitting remained a central issue during the hearing, with both parties’ lawmakers expressing support for reforms. Chair Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and committee ranking member Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) were in agreement in their support for broad reforms, as well as in criticism against the administration’s approach to carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Both lawmakers said that EPA was moving slowly issuing permits for CCS wells and blocking requests for permitting primacy by Louisiana and Texas. “We’re never going to meet what we need to do with carbon capture because of the permitting process,” said Manchin. For further information:
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https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/GHGFR-repeal-bill.pdf
EPA announced in the Federal Register (88 Fed. Reg. 6,215) that it will hold a two-day virtual public hearing on its January 27, 2023, PM NAAQS proposal (88 Fed. Reg. 5,558). The hearing will take place Tuesday-Wednesday, February 21-22, 2023, from 11 AM to 7 PM each day. The deadline for registering to testify at the hearing is February 16. (If EPA receives a high volume of registrations for the public hearing, it may continue the public hearing on February 23.) For those interested in watching (but not testifying at) the hearing EPA states on its public hearing webpage that it will post a link to a livestream shortly before the start of the hearing each day. Registration is not required for the livestream and EPA encourages viewing the hearing that way. Written comments on the PM NAAQS proposal must be received by EPA by March 28, 2023.
For further information:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-01-31/pdf/2023-01924.pdf,
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-01-27/pdf/2023-00269.pdf
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EPA has denied NACAA’s November 29, 2022, request for a 30-day extension of the comment period for the supplemental proposed rulemaking “Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review.” The November 8, 2022, supplemental would update and expand EPA’s November 2021 proposal to set new source performance standards and emission guidelines for sources of methane and volatile organic compound emissions in the oil and natural gas industry. NACAA has sought to provide its members with an extension for offering comments on this proposal to March 14, 2023; EPA’s denial of this request means comments will still be due February 13, 2023.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/EPA-methane-extension-denial.pdf
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https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA-OilandGasSectorExtensionRequest-11292022.pdf
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