EPA Chief Says Administration Committed to Clean Air

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 9, 2004 (ENS) - Stalled enforcement cases first brought under Clinton era clean air regulations and ongoing litigation over the Bush administration's revisions of those rules should not give power companies reason to delay investments in emissions reduction efforts, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (EPA) Mike Leavitt told utility executives in a speech Friday.

"Dirty power plants need to be cleaned up now, not a decade from now," Leavitt said. "Time is wasting and, while the lawyers tangle and the public relation firms spin, little is done to clean up the air."

Speaking to the board of directors of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Leavitt said the decision by a federal court to block some of the administration's revisions to the New Source Review provision of the Clean Air Act was "a disappointment because this area so badly needs clarification and certainty."

A dozen states along with several environmental and public health organizations challenged the revisions to New Source Review in federal court - last month the court agreed to stay the most recent rule changes until it decides the case.

Critics argue the changes roll back existing law, but the administration says the revisions will clarify a confusing program for industry and will result in improved efficiency and increased emissions reductions.

But in the past two years, the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and public interest groups have successfully prosecuted or settled New Source Review lawsuits that the Clinton administration brought against the 12 owners of the country's oldest, largest and dirtiest coal fired power plants.

EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt says the administration will pursue enforcement actions brought against power plants by the Clinton administration for violations of the Clean Air Act. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Leavitt today told the Associated Press the administration intends to move forward with those enforcement lawsuits - and could file new actions - but in his speech he described the situation as a "stalemate."

Uncertainty in federal regulation is a key impediment to continued progress on air quality, Leavitt said, and "all of the familiar uncertainties of New Source Review exist again as result of the stay."

"We will vigorously defend the new rule and believe it will ultimately be upheld on its merits," he said.

The administration remains committed to fixing New Source Review, Leavitt told the power company executives, but is keen to move forward with what it terms "a more effective national strategy to reduce emissions from power plants and other sources."

Power plants should start investing in emissions reductions, Leavitt said, because those facing New Source Review enforcement actions will have to be cleaned up under an integral part of the new plan - recently proposed as the "Interstate Air Quality Rule."

The air quality rule, which mirrors part of the Bush administration's controversial "Clear Skies" proposal, would employ a cap and trade system to cut sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

This mechanism, which the administration has also proposed for mercury emissions from coal fired plants, would set industry caps on emissions and then allow power plant operators to buy or sell emissions credits.

Slated to take effect in 2005, the air quality rule 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 and Leavitt said emissions from these plants are putting counties all across the nation out of compliance with new health based ozone standards.

In December the EPA informed 31 state governors that more than 530 counties were unable to meet the new ozone standards.

"Many of those counties have unhealthy air through no fault of their own," Leavitt said. "It is because they live downwind from one or more coal burning power plants."

The administration's proposals to regulate emissions from coal fired power plants have been criticized by environmentalists as less stringent than existing law. (Photo courtesy New Mexico Solar Energy Association)

Opponents say the plan is less stringent than existing law and will slow the pace of emissions' reductions, but Leavitt said the plan would push industry to cut emissions more quickly because it is more flexible than existing law.

"Our belief is simple: people do the right things faster, and they do more of it, when they have an incentive and the latitude to do it in a way that makes sense for them," Leavitt said. "It is the better way."

The EPA chief said the administration will continue its efforts to pass all of Clear Skies "because legislation is still the better way to fix this" but added that he aims to finalize the air transport rule by the end of the year.

Critics of the Bush administration frequently cite the revisions to clean air rules as evidence the President has little interest in environmental protection, but Leavitt said his first two months on the job have been "dominated by the President's insistence that every American breathe cleaner air."

"Private conversations I have had with the President have made clear to me that he is passionately committed to not only seeing major environmental improvement, but also finding a better way to go about it," Leavitt told the EEI board.

The EEI is a trade association whose members generate almost 70 percent of the electricity produced by U.S. electric utilities - it has been a strong supporter of the Bush administration.

The electric utility industry donated some $4.8 million to the Bush 2000 presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee and the inaugural committee.