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September 2-8, 2023
In this week's issue:
- EPA Inspector General Recommends Enhanced Oversight of Fenceline Monitoring at Refineries (September 6, 2023)
- Industry Groups Urge EPA Not to Follow Through with Proposal to Make PM2.5 NAAQS More Protective of Public Health (September 7, 2023)
- Members of Congress Urge “Strongest Feasible” Phase 3 Truck GHG Standards, Beyond Those in EPA’s Proposed Preferred Alternative, Before End of Year (September 5, 2023)
- EPA Announces Change to FOIA Regulations and Systems to Enter Effect September 30, 2023 (September 7, 2023)
- NACAA 2023 Year In Review Details Challenges, Success (September 6, 2023)
This Week in Review
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The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has recommended that EPA enhance its oversight to ensure that refineries are complying with the fenceline monitoring regulations for benzene. The 2015 air toxics regulations for petroleum refineries require sources to conduct fenceline monitoring of benzene and take corrective action to lower benzene concentrations if they exceed a specific action level. The OIG’s audit to determine to what extent EPA and delegated authorities are making sure corrective actions are being taken concluded that these authorities have not ensured that all refineries that exceed the action level reduce their benzene concentrations at the fenceline. Specifically, between January 2018 and September 2021, 13 of 18 refineries the OIG reviewed had benzene levels above the action level in 20 or more weeks after the first exceedance. The OIG noted that “[d]espite the existence of potential issues, the EPA and delegated authorities took limited formal enforcement-related actions at refineries under the benzene fenceline monitoring regulations.” OIG recommended that EPA provide guidance to delegated authorities to include topics such as identifying a violation, addressing gaps in data, developing strategies for sources that do not comply and dealing with issues pertaining to modeling in the absence of monitoring.
For further information: https://www.epaoig.gov/reports/audit/epa-should-enhance-oversight-ensure-all-refineries-comply-benzene-fenceline
Thirty-four industry groups joined together in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging that EPA maintain the existing National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter. The groups write, “Lowering the standards further would harm America’s ability to revitalize our supply chains and manufacturing, as well as to restore and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure.” The signatories also write, “America’s air continues to improve. The business community has worked with EPA and its state partners to lower fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions by 42 percent since 2000 and is making significant progress even with the steady growth in the U.S. economy, population, and energy use. Thanks to innovation and investment, new emissions control technologies and solutions have been widely adopted to improve air quality.” They further opine that “tightening the standards further would put large swaths of the country into non-attainment and permitting gridlock.” The industry groups conclude by stating, “Given the progress being made to reduce emissions, and the potential harm that could be caused by lowering standards further, we ask that EPA maintain the existing standards while continuing to support innovation and current emissions reduction efforts.” EPA is currently in the final stages of reconsidering the December 2020 decision to retain, without revision, the 2012 PM NAAQS. On January 27, 2023, EPA proposed to lower the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 NAAQS from the current level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to a level within the range of 9 to 10 µg/m3. The agency also sought comment on alternative annual standard levels down to 8 µg/m3 and up to 11 µg/m3. In a March 18, 2022, letter to Administrator Regan reporting the results of its review of the EPA staff Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (External Review Draft – October 2021) the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) wrote, regarding the primary annual PM2.5 standard, that “all CASAC members agree that the current level of the annual standard is not sufficiently protective of public health and should be lowered.” EPA’s proposal to make the primary annual PM2.5 standard more protective is consistent with the EPA staff recommendation and consensus response of CASAC. Consistent with the EPA staff recommendation, the agency proposed to retain, without revision, the current 35-µg/m3 primary 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS but sought comments on a level down to 25-µg/m3. The majority of CASAC members, however, found that that the available evidence calls into question the adequacy of the current 24-hour standard. Among the 34 groups signing this week’s letter to EPA Administrator Regan are the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Forest & Paper Association, American Petroleum Institute, American Public Power Association, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, American Wood Council, Corn Refiners Association, Council of Industrial Boiler Owners, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, National Association of Manufacturers, National Mining Association, Portland Cement Association and U.S, Chamber of Commerce.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/PM_NAAQS_Review-Industry_Letter_to_EPA-090723.pdf
In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, 80 Democratic members of Congress urged the agency “to finalize the strongest feasible Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3 rule (HDV rule) embodying GHG emissions reductions beyond those that would occur under EPA’s proposed preferred alternative, before the end of this year.” Noting the “critical opportunity” that the rule presents and recent developments that “support strengthening EPA’s proposed rule,” the lawmakers encourage EPA to set final standards “that better align with the standards agreed to by the Clean Truck Partnership [between the California Air Resources Board, EMA member companies and Ford Motor Company] and are more robust than the options presented in the agency’s proposal.” This includes setting standards “that reflect the momentum from industry and states, and that incentivize continued technological improvements to reduce air pollution, better protect public health and slow climate change as quickly as possible, consistent with statutorily mandated considerations.” Doing so, write the members of Congress, would also “boost well-paying jobs and economic competitiveness by positioning the United States as a leader in zero-emission vehicles” and “reduce burdens on frontline communities.” In addition, the signatories offer support for final adoption of EPA’s proposed regulatory changes related to locomotives.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/EPA_Phase_3_Truck_NPRM-Cong_Ds_Letter_to_EPA-090523.pdf
In a final rule announcement, EPA said that it will change its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations to reduce user costs and to help reduce the work required for requests made by vulnerable communities. EPA will shift from its current system, FOIAOnline, to a new system, FOIAXpress, on September 30, 2023. EPA announced the intent to move systems and update its regulations in a notice in the Federal Register on November 17, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 68946). The revisions introduce changes to the requirements that would simplify the ways that the public must describe records being sought, relax timeframes for seeking additional records or re-filing requests, and reduce fees. “The final rule will promote transparency and accountability, make FOIA more affordable, and expedite access to information to communities potentially experiencing disproportionate and adverse human health or environmental effects”, EPA’s announcement said. Full details of the policy will be made available when the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
For further information:
and
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-24678-pdf.pdf
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Our annual letter from Miles Keogh, NACAA’s Executive Director, provides a review of the policy, committee, legislative, and community actions of the National Association in Fiscal Year 2023. The letter summarizes the association’s comment letters to EPA, interactions with Capitol Hill, exchanges between agencies, bridge-building with industry, advocates, and others, and work with the press and media that the association’s Washington DC team undertook this year. It also highlights the strength of our community, and identifies ways that state and local air pollution and climate agencies can draw on the association’s staff and on our family of agencies to help advance your mission and success. The letter concludes: “Looking ahead, 2024 is bursting with opportunities and we can’t wait to grab them with both hands. Friends, the NACAA staff is your team and we’re so proud of you and the work that you do. If there’s anything we can do to make that work easier or better, or if you just feel like connecting, never hesitate to reach out – we love to hear from you! It was a good year for our work advancing the protection of clean air for all, and I’m looking forward to achieving even more together in the year ahead.”
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA-Annual-Letter-FY2023-9_6_2023.pdf