New Soot and Smog Rule Drives Bush Air Policy

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, December 18, 2003 (ENS) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt signed a proposal Wednesday to cut power plant emissions that contribute to smog and soot pollution by some 70 percent over the next 12 years. The plan has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding the administration's new proposal to cut mercury emissions, but it represents another move by the White House to implement its "Clear Skies" air pollution plan without Congressional approval.

"This is Clear Skies by regulation," says Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust.

Clear Skies has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists, public health groups and state air pollution control officials - and the plan failed to get out of committee in Congress last year and suffered a similar fate this year. Critics say the plan is less stringent than existing law and will slow down improvements to the nation's air quality.

But enacting it is a priority of the Bush administration and since taking charge of the EPA last month, Leavitt has made the plan a key part of his agenda.

"We need it to pass," Leavitt said earlier this month in his first public address as head of the EPA. "Enacting Clear Skies is by far the best route to better air quality in the most comprehensive manner."

Leavitt took another step toward enacting the plan through the EPA on Wednesday, when he formally announced the "Interstate Air Quality proposal."

The new rule affects pollution controls at the nation's oldest and dirtiest power plants. (Photo courtesy NASA)

Slated to take effect in 2005, the proposal would cut annual emissions of SO2, a leading cause of acid rain and soot or particulate matter, from 10 million tons to 3.2 million tons by 2015.

Annual emissions of NOx - the leading contributor to smog - would be cut from 4 million tons to 1.8 million tons by 2015.

The transport rule would apply to 29 eastern and Midwestern states, as well as to the District of Columbia. These areas all suffer from coal fired power plant emissions.

The proposal would result in the deepest cuts in SO2 and NOx emissions from power plans in more than a decade, Leavitt said, and "will help states and cities across the nation achieve national health based air quality standards."

Utility groups, who strongly support Clear Skies, are cautiously optimistic about the transport rule.

"We will be reviewing this proposal, as well as the recent mercury proposals to determine if each affords sufficient flexibility and lead time," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council. "As with many complex environmental issues, the devil is in the details."

Segal embraced the concept of a cap and trade plan and said such programs can reduce emissions faster, more cost effectively and with less litigation "than old fashioned 'command and control' programs."

Unlike the mercury proposal, environmentalists do not dismiss out of hand the concept of a cap and trade program for SO2 and/or NOx.

But they say the Bush plan moves more slowly than existing law and should be considered in light of the administration's revisions of other key federal air regulations.

The new rule would reduce emissions that cause smog, which affects many American cities. (Photo courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

And this proposal is "too industry friendly and does not move as quickly as the EPA has said it could do under the Clean Air Act," O'Donnell told ENS.

In 2001, the EPA said implementation of the Clean Air Act could reduce annual emissions of SO2 to 2 million tons by 2012 and annual emissions of NOx in the eastern U.S. to 1.1 million tons by 2010.

"The EPA's over the top pronouncement about their new 'Interstate Air Quality Rule' made it sound like a huge step forward, when it is only a baby step," Angela Ledford, director of the environmental group Clear the Air. 'The law requires them to do much more.'"