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October 21-27, 2023
In this week's issue:
- EPA Proposes Ban on All Uses of Trichloroethylene (October 23, 2023)
- EPA Publishes Proposed Revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models; Comments due December 22 (October 23, 2023)
- EPA Releases New Version of AERMOD Modeling System (October 23, 2023)
- EPA Releases Draft Guidance on Developing Background Concentrations for Use in Cumulative Impact Modeling (October 24, 2023)
- EPA Consent Decree Calls for Revised Chemical Manufacturing Area Source Air Toxics Standards by 2025 (October 20, 2023)
- New Truck Sales in California Exceed First ACT ZEV Goal Two Years Early (October 23, 2023)
- IEA Forecast: “We Are on Track to See All Fossil Fuels Peak Before 2030” (October 23, 2023)
This Week in Review
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EPA has proposed a ban on all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), which is a volatile organic compound listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act. The ban, proposed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would prohibit the manufacture, processing and distribution of TCE for all uses. It would take effect in one year for consumer products and most commercial uses and would call for worker protections on other uses as they are phased down over a longer period. TCE is known to cause serious adverse health effects, such as cancer, damage to the nervous system and negative reproductive health issues. It is used in a variety of products, including cleaning and furniture care products, arts and crafts coatings, degreasers, brake cleaners and other uses. According to EPA, safer alternatives are readily available in many cases. EPA will accept public comment on the proposal for 45 days after publication in the Federal Register.
For further information:
EPA published in the Federal Register (88 Fed. Reg. 72,826) a proposed rule to revise the Guideline on Air Quality Models, 40 C.F.R. Part 51, Appendix W (commonly referred to as “Appendix W”). Appendix W specifies EPA’s preferred models and modeling techniques for use in new source permitting, state implementation plan submittals and other applications. It was last updated in 2017. EPA’s new proposed revisions are primarily technical in nature. They include enhancements to the formulation and application of EPA’s near-field dispersion modeling system, AERMOD (see related article below), updates to the recommendations for the development of appropriate background concentration for cumulative impact analyses (see other related article below), and various typographical updates to the existing regulation. In the same notice as the proposed rule, EPA officially announced the Thirteenth Conference on Air Quality Modeling, which will take place November 14-15, 2023 at the EPA campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. EPA is required to hold these public conferences at regular intervals under Clean Air Act Section 320. The Thirteenth Conference will focus on the proposed Appendix W revisions and AERMOD enhancements; it will also serve as a public hearing on the proposal. Public comments on the proposed Appendix W revisions are due by December 22, 2023.
For further information:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-10-23/pdf/2023-22876.pdf
and
https://www.epa.gov/scram/13th-conference-air-quality-modeling
EPA released a revised version of the AERMOD Modeling System, the agency’s preferred near-field dispersion model for regulatory applications. The revised system (v23132), which is now posted on EPA’s SCRAM website, includes updated versions of AERMOD and its regulatory meteorological preprocessor, AERMET. Specifically, the AERMET and AERMOD executables, source code, documentation and test cases have been updated. EPA has also posted a new version of the Mesoscale Model Interface Program (MMIF) to address new features for processing overwater prognostic data through AERMET v23132. The revised version of the AERMOD system was released concurrently with the Federal Register publication of proposed revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models (“Appendix W”), which includes proposed updates to the regulatory formulation of AERMOD and AERMET and implementation (see related article above). Until the revisions to Appendix W are finalized, which EPA expects to occur in 2024, the proposed regulatory updates are BETA options, and cannot be used for regulatory applications of the modeling system without approval as an alternative model by the appropriate EPA Regional Office and subsequent concurrence by the EPA Model Clearinghouse.
For further information:
https://gaftp.epa.gov/Air/aqmg/SCRAM/models/preferred/aermod/AERMOD_23132_Transmittal_Memo.pdf
and
EPA released for public review and comment a draft guidance document to assist air agencies and permit applicants in developing a representative background concentration used as part of a cumulative impact analysis for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) implementation modeling demonstrations (e.g., Prevention of Significant Deterioration compliance demonstrations, State Implementation Plan demonstrations for inert pollutants, and SO2 designations). The draft guidance was released in conjunction with EPA’s proposed revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models (commonly known as “Appendix W”; see related article above) to support EPA’s proposed revisions to section 8 of Appendix W on the development of background concentrations. It details the EPA-recommended framework with a progression of steps and considerations to use in characterizing a credible and appropriately representative background concentration for cumulative impact analyses, including the contributions from nearby sources in multi-source areas. EPA notes that the guidance does not create binding, enforceable requirements and “does not limit or restrict any justifiable approach that regulatory applications and authorities may take to conduct the required compliance demonstrations.” Further, it “does it represent a conclusion or judgment by EPA that the technical approaches recommended in the document will be sufficient to make a successful compliance demonstration in every circumstance.” Comments on the draft guidance should be submitted to the rulemaking docket for EPA’s proposed Appendix W revisions. The comment deadline is December 22, 2023.
For further information:
EPA has entered into a proposed consent decree with a group of environmental organizations to settle a suit claiming that EPA did not review and revise, as necessary, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources every eight years, as required. EPA promulgated the NESHAP for the category in 2009 and last revised the standards in 2012. The source category includes hundreds of area sources in a variety of chemical industries. The consent decree is the result of the suit, California Communities Against Toxics v. Regan, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on May 24, 2022. It would require EPA to propose a rule for the source category by November 13, 2024 and issue a final rule by September 17, 2025. The proposed consent decree is subject to public comment – until November 20, 2023 – and then must be approved by the court.
For further information:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-10-20/pdf/2023-23142.pdf
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state has already surpassed its 2024 goal for zero-emission truck sales. In its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation, California established a 2024 sales goal of 6 percent of all new trucks sold in the state being zero-emission vehicle (ZEVs). However, in 2022 that goal was exceeded by 1.5 percent, with 7,639 ZEV trucks sold representing 7.5 percent of new truck sales statewide. In a press statement, Governor Newsom’s office explains that under the ACT Regulation, 50 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty truck sales are to be ZEVs by 2035, with an ultimate goal of 100 percent ZEVs by 2045. To support meeting these goals, California has provided over $780 million to assist fleet operators with ZEV truck purchases. In addition, the state’s $52-billion Climate Commitment includes more than $10 billion to accelerate the transition to ZEVs and the construction of charging infrastructure. Of the achievement on ZEV truck sales Governor Newsom said, “We’re cleaning up California’s air by getting more clean vehicles on the road, and we’re doing it years ahead of schedule. Californians will keep seeing this progress in real time, with big rigs and other heavy-duty trucks on our roads going clean. We’ve provided the incentives, goals, and infrastructure to get us here and continue this progress for decades to come.” On October 13, 2023, the California Air Resources Board released, “Advanced Clean Trucks Credit Summary Through the 2022 Model Year,” in which it tracks manufacturers’ progress in achieving the ACT Regulation’s ZEV goals and provides annual vehicle sales data reported by manufacturers as well as projected and earned credits and credit balances.
For further information:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/23/california-hit-zev-truck-sales-goal-two-years-ahead-of-schedule/
and
The 2023 World Energy Outlook, released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), has forecasted that global oil and gas use may peak in the 2020s due to policy and market forces. The report also said that IEA expects renewables to make up nearly 50 percent of global electricity in 2030, up from about 30 percent today. It attributed this to increased use of non-fossil energy technology and “structural economic shifts” around the world, including geopolitical instability in fossil fuel markets caused by conflict in Israel and Gaza and the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. “Investment in clean energy has risen by 40% since 2020. The push to bring down emissions is a key reason, but not the only one. The economic case for mature clean energy technologies is strong,” the report says. IEA notes that the pace has quickened since the beginning of the decade, with electric vehicles (EVs) making up one in twenty-five cars sold in 2020 and one in five in 2023. IEA cites more than 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity coming online globally in 2023 with more than $1 billion being spent on solar deployment every day in 2023. Still, IEA’s report notes that global average surface temperature is already around 1.2 °C above pre‑industrial levels and that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have not yet peaked. “The energy sector is also the primary cause of the polluted air that more than 90 percent of the world’s population is forced to breathe, linked to more than 6 million premature deaths a year,” the report concludes, “a pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C is very difficult – but remains open.”
For further information:
https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023/executive-summary