June 29 – July 5, 2019
In this week's issue:
- NACAA Comments on Proposed Extension of Implementation Date for Redesigned PAMS Network (July 1, 2019)
- Independent Research and Analysis Group Conducts Review of Benefit-Cost Analysis Underlying Proposed Rollback of Light-Duty Vehicle Rule (June 28, 2019)
- Montana Joins U.S. Climate Alliance (July 1, 2019)
- Senate Approves Carbon Capture and Sequestration Bill as Part of Defense Appropriations Package (June 27, 2019)
- Nevada Senator Introduces Package of Four Bills to Promote Cleaner Vehicles and Address Climate Change (June 27, 2019)
- EPA IG Issues Report on Effectiveness of EPA’s Automated CEMS Screening (June 27, 2019)
- D.C Circuit Dismisses NSR “Project Aggregation” Lawsuit After NRDC Files Voluntary Motion to Dismiss (June 27, 2019)
- EPA Proposes RTR for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (June 27, 2019)
- G20 Summit Closes with a Solo U.S Climate Declaration (June 29, 2019)
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Jack Broadbent named Local Co-Chair of NACAA Public Outreach Committee (July 3, 2019)
This Week in Review
NACAA submitted comments to EPA on the agency’s proposed rule to extend, by two years, the start date for implementation of the redesigned Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) network. EPA’s proposal was published in the Federal Register on May 31, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 25,221). In it, EPA proposes to extend the start date for required PAMS monitoring from June 1, 2019 to June 1, 2021 for all PAMS sites, because many states have not yet received the equipment and training needed to implement the new requirements. Alternatively, EPA seeks comment on whether the start date should be extended only for sites that have not received the necessary equipment, with two alternative options under consideration. In the comments submitted to the docket NACAA supports the proposed blanket two-year extension for all agencies rather than either of the alternative options that EPA presented in the proposal; NACAA also notes that agencies may choose to start PAMS measurements earlier if they so choose.
For further information: http://4cleanair.org/sites/default/files/Documents/PAMS_Impl_Date-NACAA_Comments_on_EPA_Proposal-070119.pdf
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) published a briefing paper, titled “The flawed benefit-cost analysis behind proposed rollback of the U.S. light-duty vehicle efficiency standards,” for which the group reviewed the benefit-cost estimate prepared by the Administration to justify the proposed rulemaking – issued jointly by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and EPA – to roll back greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for model year (MY) 2021 to 2025 light-duty vehicles. The ICCT researchers and analysts conducting the review of the new (August 2018) analysis versus analyses conducted in 2016 and 2017 concluded not only that the 2018 analysis “represents a departure from previous benefit-cost analyses done by [NHTSA], as well as by the EPA,” but also that “[i]ncorrect assumptions – such as restricting technology availability, increasing the cost of existing technologies, assuming vehicle sales decline due to efficiency improvements, increasing fatalities from greater use of older vehicles, and removing energy and emission-reduction benefits – inflate costs by $300 billion and devalue benefits by $100 billion.” This approach, ICCT says, changes the benefit-to-cost ratio from more than 3-to-1 to less than 1-to-1 “despite the fact that it relies on the same available agency expertise, data, research, and tools.”
For further information: http://4cleanair.org/sites/default/files/Documents/LDV_Rollback_Rule-ICCT_Briefing_Paper_on_Benefit-Cost_Flaws-062819.pdf
Montana Governor Steve Bullock announced that the state has joined the U.S. Climate Alliance. The Alliance, formed in 2017 in response to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, now includes 25 states accounting for 55 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Its members have pledged to meet the United States’ voluntary commitment under the Paris Agreement – a 26- to 28-percent reduction in GHG emissions below 2005 levels by 2025. “Climate change is already impacting our way of life and our economy. How we choose to respond to the changes around us offers a pivotal opportunity to both safeguard our traditional strengths and diversify and grow new opportunities for our future,” said Governor Bullock in a press release. The Governor also announced that the state would form a Climate Solutions Council to, among other things, develop a package of GHG mitigation and climate resilience recommendations no later than June 1, 2020.
For further information: http://governor.mt.gov/Pressroom/governor-bullock-establishes-montana-climate-solutions-council
The U.S. Senate approved the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act appropriations bill. The USE IT Act, introduced as S. 383 by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in February, supports research on carbon utilization and direct air capture technologies and encourages the construction of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration infrastructure. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) unanimously approved the bill on April 10, 2019 (EPW also approved an identical version of bill during the previous Congress). The defense appropriations package that includes the USE IT Act, assigned bill number S. 1790, will now proceed to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
For further information: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/383 and https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1790
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced a package of four bills to support the use of cleaner vehicles while also addressing climate change. S. 2038, the Clean Fuel Infrastructure Act, and S. 2039, the Greener Transportation for Communities Act, would, respectively, extend to 2021 the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property and allow electric charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure to qualify for tax exemptions and state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance certain private projects. S. 2040, the Electric Transportation Commission and National Strategy Act, would establish a working group to strategize and report on the obstacles to and opportunities for national coordination on electric transportation. S. 2041, the Green Spaces, Green Vehicles Act, would facilitate the installation of zero-emission vehicle infrastructure on National Forest System and National Park System land. Senator Cortez Masto said the bills “provide opportunities for the federal government to invest in clean transportation infrastructure on public lands and require that the federal government take the lead in convening stakeholders around a national strategy. Additionally, these bills provide the economic incentives for companies, [and] state and local governments to invest in this critical infrastructure that strengthens America’s clean energy future, creates jobs and combats climate change.”
For further information: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2038?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2038%22%5D%7D&s=6&r=1, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2039?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2039%22%5D%7D&s=7&r=1, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2040?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2040%22%5D%7D&s=8&r=1 and , https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2041?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2041%22%5D%7D&s=4&r=1
The EPA Office of the Inspector General (IG) issued a report in which it concludes that EPA’s automated screening of Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) data reported by facilities was generally effective in verifying the quality of the data. The IG found, however, that there were some small inaccuracies that should be addressed. In the report, titled “EPA Effectively Screens Air Emissions Data from Continuous Monitoring Systems but Could Enhance Verification of System Performance,” the IG recommends that the EPA Office of Air and Radiation “develop and implement electronic checks to retroactively evaluate CEMS data where monitoring plan changes have occurred, and develop and distribute to state and local agencies a streamlined field audit process.” The IG reports that EPA has agreed with the recommendations and is taking corrective actions.
For further information: https://www.epa.gov/office-inspector-general/report-epa-effectively-screens-air-emissions-data-continuous-monitoring
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in January challenging a November 2018 “final action” by EPA on the interpretation of “project aggregation” under the New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting program. In its unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss the case, filed June 25, 2019, NRDC did not provide a reason for the withdrawal. Project aggregation refers to when two or more physical or operational changes at a source are combined into a single “project” for purposes of major NSR applicability. In its November 2018 action, EPA finalized proceedings on a petition for administrative reconsideration that NRDC filed nearly a decade ago. That petition concerned an action taken during the George W. Bush Administration in January 2009, in which EPA determined that physical and/or operational changes at a source should be aggregated into a single project for consideration of major NSR applicability when those changes are “substantially related.” Further, EPA concluded that in determining whether the changes are substantially related 1) a source need not group changes based on timing alone; 2) changes are not required to be aggregated simply because they support the plant’s overall basic purpose; and 3) EPA will presume that changes separated by three or more years are not substantially related unless the specifics of the activities rebut that presumption. In February 2009, after NRDC filed its petition for administrative reconsideration – as well as a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit – the Obama Administration placed an administrative stay on EPA’s January 2009 action. The D.C. Circuit case (NRDC v. EPA, No. 09-1103) was also placed in abeyance. In EPA’s final action of November 2018, the agency determined that it would retain the Bush Administration’s 2009 interpretation of project aggregation and lift the administrative stay.
For further information: http://4cleanair.org/sites/default/files/Documents/NRDCvEPA-No19-1007-DismissalOrder-06272019.pdf and http://4cleanair.org/sites/default/files/Documents/NRDCvEPA-No19-1007-MotiontoDismiss-06252019.pdf
EPA announced the proposal of a Risk and Technology Review (RTR) standard for the Municipal Solid Waste Landfills source category. The agency is proposing to determine that the risks related to emissions from this source category are acceptable and that there have been no improvements in technologies, processes or practices that would result in further emission reductions. EPA is proposing revisions to clarify that the standards are applicable during periods of startup, shutdown and malfunction; requirements that facilities submit electronic copies of compliance reports, including performance tests; clarifying language for the 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and emission guidelines (EG) regarding compliance with the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and to further clarify that the NESHAP no longer points to the 1996 NSPS for the bulk of the rule; and modernize the NESHAP by adopting provisions developed under the 2016 NSPS/EG. Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register there will be a 45-day public comment period.
For further information: https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/municipal-solid-waste-landfills-national-emission-standards
The latest G20 meeting, a gathering of 19 countries and the European Union to discuss international economic cooperation, closed with a communiqué outlining areas of agreement between attendees while highlighting the United States’ singular stance on the Paris international climate agreement. The document’s climate change section is divided into two paragraphs, the first of which expresses support for the Paris Agreement as well as a “commitment to its full implementation, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.” A second paragraph explains the contrasting U.S. position, affirming President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement “because it disadvantages American workers and taxpayers” while touting U.S. reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. According to the paragraph, U.S. energy related CO2 emissions fell 14 percent between 2005 and 2017 even as the U.S. economy grew 19.4 percent over the same period.
For further information: https://g20.org/pdf/documents/en/FINAL_G20_Osaka_Leaders_Declaration.pdf
NACAA Co-President Richard Stedman (Monterey, CA) announced the appointment of Jack Broadbent as the local agency Co-Chair of the NACAA Public Outreach Committee, effective July 4, 2019. Jack is the Chief Executive Officer/Air Pollution Control Officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco, CA. Prior to that role he was the Air Division Director for EPA Region 9, the Deputy Director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Los Angeles, and held several other leadership roles working on air quality in the public and private sector. He will replace Wayne Nastri (South Coast, California), who took over as Local Co-Chair of the Criteria Pollutants Committee on July 1, and work alongside State Co-Chair Christine Kirby (Massachusetts). Please join us in congratulating Jack!