March 11-17, 2023
In this week's issue:
- Administration Calls for Significant Increase in State/Local Air Grants for FY 2024 (March 16, 2023)
- NACAA FY 2024 Appropriations Testimony Calls For Additional Grant Funding (March 16, 2023)
- NACAA Comments On Proposed National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (March 13, 2023)
- EPA Announces Final Good Neighbor Plan for 2015 Ozone NAAQS (March 15, 2023)
- EPA Releases Draft Contingency Measures Guidance, 30-Day Public Comment Period Will Follow FR Publication (March 17, 2023)
- EPA Announces Availability of Second Draft Policy Assessment for Ongoing Ozone NAAQS Reconsideration, Comments Due April 14 (March 15, 2023)
- EPA Issues 2021 Toxic Release Inventory National Analysis (March 16, 2023)
- U.S. DOT Accepting Applications for Grants Under New BIL Program to Fund Infrastructure for EV Charging and Alternative Fueling (March 14, 2023)
- House Members Introduce Bill to Amend CAA Section 209(b) to Prohibit Waivers for California Motor Vehicle Standards that “Limit the Sale or Use of New Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines” (March 9, 2023)
- Colorado Takes Steps To Cut Oil and Gas NOx Emissions (March 16, 2023)
- PurpleAir Sensors Underestimate PM2.5 by a Factor of 5-6 in Dust Events, Researchers Find (March 13, 2023)
This Week in Review
The Administration’s FY 2024 budget request for EPA is calling for $400.2 million in grants to state and local air agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air Act. This is an increase of $151.2 million (approximately 60 percent) over the amount appropriated in FY 2023 ($249 million). EPA has just provided additional details about the Administration’s budget request, which was announced on March 9 (but did not include specifics about EPA’s programs). With respect to the recommended increase to state and local air grants, EPA’s “Budget-in-Brief” document states: “This increase in grant resources will help expand the efforts of air pollution control agencies to implement their programs and to accelerate immediate on-the-ground efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The increase also will enhance the resiliency, capacity, and capability of air monitoring systems for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and local-scale monitoring and will support additional air quality monitoring in disadvantaged communities suffering from disproportionate impact of traffic emissions.” Additional details about the proposed budget include the following:
- $150 million for grants for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program (compared to $100 million in FY 2023);
- $69.9 million for Targeted Airshed Grants (equal to FY 2023); and
- $10.2 million for Multipurpose Grants (zero in FY 2023).
As announced last week, the budget request includes $12 billion for EPA’s total budget (compared to $10.13 billion in FY 2023), which is an increase of 19 percent. Among the features of the proposed budget are an increase to EPA’s staffing levels, by adding 2,400 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs), compared to 2022, for a total of over 17,000 FTEs; a focus on climate change work by including nearly $5 billion to address climate change (mitigation and adaptation); and emphasis on environmental justice (EJ) by providing nearly $1.8 billion to support EJ efforts in EPA’s programs.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-03/fy-2024-epa-bib.pdf (p. 104 – narrative about air grants; p. 95 – detailed charts with information about State and Tribal Assistance Grants)
NACAA submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies regarding FY 2024 appropriations, specifically related to grants for state and local air quality agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air Act. In the testimony, NACAA requests that Congress 1) provide $500 million in grants to state and local air agencies, which is an increase of $251 million over the FY 2023 appropriation of $249 million; 2) provide flexibility to state and local air quality agencies to use federal grants to address the highest priority programs in their areas; 3) retain grants for monitoring fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under the authority of Section 103 of the Clean Air Act, rather than shifting it to Section 105; and 4) provide grant increases under authorities of the CAA that do not require matching funds (e.g., Section 103) as much as possible to allow agencies that do not have sufficient matching funds to still obtain the additional grants. The Subcommittee is not holding in-person or virtual hearings for public witnesses regarding EPA’s budget this year. The Administration’s FY 2024 budget request was released on March 9, 2023, but it did not contain specific recommendations for state and local air grants. Additional details on the Administration’s request are expected later this month.
For further information: https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/House-Testimony-FY-2024-NACAA.pdf
NACAA has submitted a letter with comments regarding the EPA’s January 12, 2023 proposal “National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives for Fiscal Years 2024-2027” (docket EPA-HQ-OECA-2022-0981). The National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs) represent EPA’s highest national priorities for enforcement and compliance. NACAA’s letter calls for EPA to focus its determination of these priorities on areas of the greatest impact where 1) environmental violations are widespread, flagrant, and have the greatest harmful impact; 2) areas where the damage to human health and the environment caused by a violation would be high and receive the most attention for prevention; and 3) areas where the agency has sole jurisdictional authority or where its expertise, resources, and focus are non-substitutable by its state, local, and other partners. NACAA also recommends that EPA should use enforcement- and compliance-focused impact criteria to inform their development of metrics and goals for evaluating and driving toward success. In addition, EPA should strive to ensure that the NECIs are implemented consistently and adequately across all regions and programs. In the letter, NACAA addresses the four initiatives EPA proposes to continue to priorities, two that it will add to the priority list, and two that it proposes to remove from the NECI list. The letter also identifies areas for future attention.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA-OECA-FY24_27-NECI-Comments-_-03132023.pdf
EPA announced its final Good Neighbor Plan to address interstate transport pollution under section 110(a)(2)(D) – the good neighbor provision – of the Clean Air Act. The final rule puts in place requirements to address the obligations of a total of 23 states to eliminate significant contributions to nonattainment or interference with maintenance of the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard in other states. The plan is directed at emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from fossil fuel-fired power plants in 22 states and industrial sources in 20 states. For power plants, the plan includes a NOx trading program. For industrial sources, the plan includes enforceable NOx emission control requirements for the following types of sources, new and existing: 1) Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas; 2) Cement and Concrete Product Manufacturing; 3) Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing; 4) Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing; 5) boilers at Basic Chemical Manufacturing, Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing, Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills, Iron and Steel and Ferroalloys Manufacturing and Metal Ore Mining facilities; and 6) Municipal Waste Combustors. The 23 affected states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. EPA has deferred action on Wyoming and Tennessee, both of which were included in the proposed plan, pending further review of air quality modeling. Delaware, also included in the proposed plan, was removed from the list of affected states after EPA found no link between Delaware’s emissions and downwind states. The rule will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/csapr/good-neighbor-plan-2015-ozone-naaqs
and
EPA released a draft of its “Guidance on the Preparation of State Implementation Plan Provisions that Address the Nonattainment Area Contingency Measure Requirements for Ozone and Particulate Matter.” EPA intends for this guidance to assist state and local air agencies required to prepare nonattainment State Implementation Plans for the ozone or particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under Part D of Clean Air Act Title I, particularly with respect to the inclusion of control measures that would take effect if an area fails to attain an ozone or PM NAAQS by the prescribed attainment date or meet reasonable further progress requirements. In the draft guidance, EPA focuses on three new or revised aspects of the agency’s current contingency measures (CM) guidance: 1) the method by which state and local air agencies calculate the EPA-recommended level of emission reductions CMs should provide; 2) recommendations for an air agency’s infeasibility justification if the air agency cannot identify feasible CMs sufficient to result in the recommended level of CM emission reductions; and 3) the recommended time period within which emission reductions from CMs should occur. The draft guidance also includes “additional information to summarize EPA’s existing guidance for CMs more broadly, including aspects that EPA is not changing, to ensure clarity and national consistency.” Once the availability of the 43-page draft guidance is published in the Federal Register (expected as soon as next week), EPA will accept public comments for 30 days.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-implementation-plans/draft-contingency-measures-guidance
EPA published in the Federal Register (88 Fed. Reg. 15,940) a notice of availability of the second external review draft of the Policy Assessment [PA] for the Reconsideration of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards prepared by agency staff. In the second external review draft, as in the first, which was released in April 2022, EPA staff present their conclusion to retain the current 70-parts-per-billion (ppb) 8-hour ozone standard without revision. This conclusion is also consistent with the final decision made by the previous EPA Administrator at the end of the ozone NAAQS review finalized in December 2020. In this 1,146-page second draft PA, released on March 1, 2023, for discussion with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), EPA staff write, “Accordingly, we conclude it is appropriate in this reconsideration of the 2020 [decision] to consider retaining the current primary standard of 0.070 ppm O3, as the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration averaged across three years, without revision. In light of this conclusion, we have not identified any potential alternative standards for consideration. In the event of different policy judgments from those made in the 2015 and 2020 reviews, however, standard levels in the range from 70 ppb to 60 ppb (recognized by the CASAC in those two reviews to be supported by the scientific evidence) may be appropriate to consider.” EPA staff also conclude that evidence warrants retaining the 70-ppb secondary ozone NAAQS without revision. EPA is accepting comments on the second draft ozone PA through April 14, 2023. The CASAC Ozone Panel will meet March 29-30, 2023, to discuss its response to the second draft PA.
For further information:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-03-15/pdf/2023-05237.pdf,
and
https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=113:19:16475064201858:::19:P19_ID:985
EPA has issued the 2021 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, providing information about environmental releases of listed TRI chemicals to the air, water and land and transferred off-site for disposal during calendar year 2021. The data indicate that environmental releases in 2021 were 10 percent lower than in 2012, although they were 8 percent higher than in 2020 (but still below pre-pandemic levels). Releases into the air decreased 26 percent between 2012 and 2021, with the greatest decreases being in hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen fluoride, methanol and toluene, driven by electric utilities. However, in 2021, the largest increase in air emissions was reported by electric utilities. Air releases of TRI chemicals increased overall by 3 percent from 2020 to 2021 and the chemicals released in the largest quantities in 2021 were ammonia and methanol. Specifically with respect to ethylene oxide, EPA reported a decrease in releases of 45 percent from 2012 to 2021 (largely from reduced air emissions), with an increase of 14 percent from 2020 to 2021.
For further information: https://www.epa.gov/trinationalanalysis
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the opening of the application period for a new grant program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), to fund infrastructure for electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling. Under the BIL’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program a total of $2.5 billion will be awarded over five years to applicants including cities, counties, local governments and Tribes. In the first round, $700 million in funding is available to deploy infrastructure projects in publicly accessible locations in urban and rural communities and along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors. DOT’s Federal Highway Administration and the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation Planning will host two informational webinars about funding opportunities under the CFI program on Tuesday, March 21, from 1 to 2 PM Eastern and Wednesday, March 22, from 2 to 3 PM Eastern. Applications for funding must be submitted by May 30, 2023.
For further information:
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=346798,
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/cfi/,
https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN__lIvIFEiQg21NbfjGI_Knw
and
https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_L4-dFFn5TFivHvsm3b9j3Q
Rep. John Joyce (R-PA) introduced H.R. 1435, to amend Clean Air Act (CAA) section 209(b) so that EPA would be prohibited, under a new section 209(b)(1)(D), from granting waivers of federal preemption for new motor vehicle and engine standards adopted by California if the standards “directly or indirectly limit the sale or use of new motor vehicles with internal combustion engines, as such term is defined in section 63.9375 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect January 1, 2023.” The “Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act” would also prevent EPA from determining that any standards adopted by California after the date of enactment are within the scope of a waiver granted before the date of enactment. Further, the bill would require EPA to revoke any waiver granted under CAA section 209(b) from January 1, 2022 until the date of enactment if the agency finds that the waiver does not comply with the requirements of new section 209(b)(1)(D). Over 65 Republican House Members have joined Rep. Joyce as co-sponsors of this legislation.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/Legis-HR1435-To-Block-CA-motor-veh-waivers-030823.pdf,
and
By executive order, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) has directed state agencies to take steps to reduce NOx emissions from the oil and gas sector by at least 30% by 2025 and by at least 50% in 2030. These represent the most aggressive and comprehensive NOx regulations of the sector to date, exceeding Federal requirements. In a letter to the directors of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), as well as Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC), Gov. Polis directed agencies to develop rules by the end of 2024 that require upstream oil and gas operators in the ozone nonattainment area to achieve significant reductions sector-wide through available control strategies and consider whether the rule is suitable for adoption into the SIP. The letter also directs COGCC to work with CDPHE to codify environmental best management practices in permitting, and to create incentives for oil and gas companies reducing greenhouse gas and local air pollution.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-03-16-Polis-letter-pollution.pdf
A research study evaluating EPA’s recently developed national correction equation for PurpleAir sensor data found that the sensors provide reasonably accurate PM2.5 results for typical wintertime urban pollution and smoke events, but they underestimate PM2.5 concentrations by a factor of 5-6 for dust events. The research team, led by Daniel A. Jaffe at the University of Washington, examined 50 short-term pollution spikes that could be classified as typical urban, smoke or dust events. For each event, PurpleAir sensor data were paired with a nearby regulatory PM2.5 monitor to evaluate the agreement. The PurpleAir data were then corrected using either the 2021 Barkjohn correction equation or a new equation being used by EPA for the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map. Both equations did a good job correcting the data for smoke and typical pollution events, but both were too low by a factor of 5-6 in dust. The authors proposed a modified correction equation that improves the PurpleAir data for some dust events, but concluded that further work is needed to improve the algorithm. The study is published in the international scientific journal Atmospheric Measurement Techniques and is available to the public online.
For further information: https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/16/1311/2023/