November 5-11, 2022
In this week's issue:
- NACAA Letter to EPA Recommends State/Local Agency Funding Increases in FY 2024 (November 8, 2022)
- EPA Issues RFIs for Public and Stakeholder Input on IRA Implementation (November 4, 2022)
- EPA Responds to Petitions to Address Locomotive NOx and PM Emissions, Outlines Planned Actions (November 9, 2022)
- EPA Extends Public Comment Period for Proposed “Reconsideration of Fugitive Emissions” NSR Rule (November 10, 2022)
- EPA Publishes Amendments to the 2008 NESHAP for Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations at Area Sources (November 10, 2022)
- Draft of Fifth National Climate Assessment Released for Public Comment (November 10, 2022)
- COP27 Kicks Off In Egypt (November 7, 2022)
This Week in Review
NACAA has sent a letter to EPA articulating the association’s recommendations related to the agency’s FY 2024 budget, calling for significant increases in funding for state and local air quality agencies. While Congress has not yet adopted FY 2023 appropriations, EPA is in the process of developing a proposed budget for FY 2024, which will be announced in February or March 2023. NACAA’s recommendations, which the NACAA Board of Directors adopted at its October 19, 2022 meeting, call for the following:
- Provide $500 million in federal grants to state and local air agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to carry out current programs and new challenges expected in the near future. (The amount appropriated in FY 2022 was $231 million).
- Allow flexibility for state and local air agencies to use federal grants for the highest-priority needs in their areas.
- Retain fine particulate matter (PM5) monitoring funds under Section 103 authority, so agencies are not required to provide matching funds in order to obtain the grants.
- Provide grant increases under authorities of the CAA that do not require matching funds (e.g., Section 103) as much as possible. This will allow agencies that do not have sufficient matching funds to still obtain the grants.
NACAA noted that the recently adopted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes significant funding to address climate change, environmental justice and other critical issues. However, the IRA funds are not a substitute for NACAA’s suggested increases, which are intended to make up for the historical deficits in state and local grant funding and bring the appropriations to the level they should be for these agencies to undertake their existing and ongoing responsibilities. Additionally, the IRA funding is for a fixed number of years, rather than a permanent increase. Finally, successful implementation of the IRA will likely increase the responsibilities typically borne by state and local air agencies’ core programs, but for which the measure did not allocate specific additional funding.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/EPA-Letter-NACAA-FY-2024-Recommendations.pdf
EPA has published a series of six Requests for Information (RFIs) for the public and stakeholders to provide input on potential programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These RFIs include the law’s (1) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants, (2) Transportation Programs, (3) the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, (4) Funding to Address Air Pollution, (5) Funding for Implementation of American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, and (6) the Low Emissions Electricity Program & GHG Corporate Reporting. EPA’s engagement strategy for these IRA programs includes requesting public comment; soliciting expert input on program design; holding stakeholder listening sessions; and creating a one-stop shop for information on program implementation (although the website currently only hosts the RFIs and a series of questions that EPA has posed for stakeholder consideration). No date has been offered as a deadline for receipt of comments from stakeholders. On October 5, 2022, NACAA provided a letter to EPA outlining our recommendations for IRA implementation.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/air-and-radiation/inflation-reduction-act-non-regulatory-dockets-public-input
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and
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA-IRA-letter-to-EPA-10_5_22-1.pdf
EPA responded to petitions it received in 2016 and 2017 to take action under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address emissions from locomotives. In its June 22, 2016, petition, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District asked EPA to undertake rulemaking to establish new federal nitrogen oxide (NOx) standards for locomotives (and heavy duty-trucks); the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) joined San Joaquin on that petition in December 2016. The California Air Resources Board (CARB), in its April 13, 2017, petition, requested that EPA undertake rulemaking to amend and establish new federal emission standards for locomotive emissions of NOx and particulate matter. (In an October 4, 2017, letter to EPA, NACAA expressed its support for CARB’s petition.) EPA, in its responses to CARB and San Joaquin-CAPCOA, informed the petitioners that it “has formed a team to evaluate how best to address air pollutant emissions from the locomotive sector. This team will develop a set of options and recommendations for possible EPA regulatory actions addressing new locomotives and new locomotive engines. EPA will examine our current locomotive rules and consider appropriate actions to ensure that they continue to meet CAA section 213(a)(5)’s requirement that they achieve the greatest degree of emission reduction achievable through the application of technology that the Administrator determines will be available for the locomotives or engines to which the standards apply, giving appropriate consideration to the cost of applying such technology within the period of time available to manufacturers and to noise, energy, and safety factors associated with the application of such technology.” EPA last took action to regulate locomotive emission in 2008. The agency also advised the petitioners that it plans to undertake a notice-and-comment rulemaking process to reconsider its existing locomotive preemption regulations “to ensure they don’t inappropriately limit California’s and other states’ authorities under the CAA to address their air quality issues.” EPA further added that these actions are just one component of its overall plan to address emissions from the rail sector: “The Inflation Reduction Act provides $3 billion for grants and rebates to reduce air pollution at our country’s ports, as well as an additional $60 million to the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program specifically for goods movement projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities. We are just starting to put together our plans to implement the provisions of this historic Act. We are looking forward to working with your agency and other stakeholders as we develop these programs that could help accelerate the introduction of cleaner locomotives.”
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-responds-petitions-address-harmful-emissions-locomotives
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In response to requests received from various parties, EPA has agreed to extend by 60 days the public comment period on its proposed “Reconsideration of Fugitive Emissions Rule.” Published on October 14, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 62,322), the proposed rule would require all major stationary sources to count fugitive emissions toward total emissions when determining whether a physical or operational change is a “major modification” subject to New Source Review (NSR) permitting requirements. Under the current (2008) rule, only certain industrial source categories are required to consider fugitive emissions in the total emissions calculation (including, among others, petroleum refineries, large fossil-fuel fired steam electric plants and Portland cement plants). The proposed reconsideration rule would also remove a regulatory provision from 1980 that exempts certain stationary sources from substantive major NSR requirements if the only reason a change is considered a “major modification” is due to the inclusion of fugitive emissions. In addition to extending the public comment period on the proposal, EPA will also add a redline/strikeout of the regulatory text to the rulemaking docket. Notice of the extension is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on November 14, which means that the new deadline for public comments will be February 14, 2023.
For further information: https://www.epa.gov/nsr/proposed-reconsideration-fugitive-emissions-rule
and
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-24662.pdf
EPA published in the Federal Register (87 Fed. Reg. 67,791) minor amendments to the 2008 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations at Area Sources. Following a technology review, EPA determined that there have been no cost-effective developments that would further reduce air toxics since the original NESHAP was promulgated. The final rule also amends provisions regarding electronic reporting, makes miscellaneous clarifying and technical corrections, provides a simplified alternative to the petition for exemption process, and clarifies requirements that address emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction.
For further information: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-11-10/pdf/2022-24129.pdf
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The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has released a draft of its Fifth National Climate Assessment report for public comment. The draft finds that the U.S. is seeing temperature increases that outpace the world as a whole by 68 percent, increasing the country’s vulnerability to the consequences of climate change. “The things Americans value most are at risk,” the report reads, illustrating stark risks to food and water supplies, profound changes to the livability of communities, and areas of the country transformed by natural disasters and climatic changes. For example, the report finds that the frequency of disasters costing $1 billion in damages (adjusted for inflation) has increased, from every four months in the 1980s to every three weeks, on average, in this decade. The announcement of the draft release was made in the Federal Register (87 FR 67873) and the Fifth National Climate Assessment is expected to be finalized next year. To offer comment, the draft report can be accessed in the USGCRP Review and Comment System (linked below) and comments must be received before January 27, 2023. For further information:
https://review.globalchange.gov/
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https://www.globalchange.gov/nca5
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https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-11-10/pdf/2022-24611.pdf
Over 30,000 people including the representatives of 197 governments, along with businesses, non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups have descended on the resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conference will feature negotiations on treaty issues concerning mitigation, adaptation, and finance. In the mitigation area, countries that had previously pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have generally been slow to increase the ambition of those pledges, which will be necessary to keep global average temperature increases below 2°C. Adaptation issues include how countries will document progress toward enhancing resilience and helping the most vulnerable communities. In the climate finance discussions, developed countries will be called upon to fulfill unmet commitments made in 2009 to provide $100 billion in climate finance to developing countries. The COP will also feature discussion about “loss and damage” funding for nations that have suffered climate impacts that are disproportionate to their emissions contribution to the problem. The event will continue until November 18, 2022.
For further information: