EPA Fact Sheet
Findings of Significant
Contribution and Rulemaking on Section 126
Petitions
Dec. 17, 1999 Actions | Health and Environmental Benefits | Background
Federal NOx Budget
Trading Program (Cap & Trade) | For more Info
Dec. 17, 1999
Actions
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
granting petitions filed by four northeastern
states seeking to reduce ozone pollution (smog)
through reductions in nitrogen oxide (NOX)
emissions from other states. This action will
provide cleaner air for over 100 million people.
The petitions were filed under Section 126 of
the Clean Air Act, which gives any state the
authority to ask EPA to set emissions limits for
specific sources of pollution in other states
that significantly contribute to its air quality
problems. EPA is granting four of eight petitions
filed in August 1997 for the 1-hour ozone
standard: Connecticut; Massachusetts; New York;
and Pennsylvania. (In April, EPA denied petitions
for the 1-hour standard filed by Maine, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont because
these states no longer had areas that were not
attaining the 1-hour standard.)
By granting these four petitions, EPA is
finding that certain large electric utilities and
lard industrial boilers and turbines violate a
Clean Air Act prohibition against significantly
contributing to air pollution in other states.
This action will provide cleaner air for
citizens in the following states: Connecticut,
Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia,
West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
In addition, petitions currently are pending
from Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and the
District of Columbia. EPA will address these
petitions in a separate action in the near
future. However, the Dec. 17, 1999 action will
reduce emissions from the majority of
out-of-state sources targeted by these states.
As a result, 392 facilities will have to
reduce annual emissions by a total of nearly
510,000 tons from 2007 levels. The facilities are
in: Delaware , the District of Columbia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia
and West Virginia.
Each affected facility will participate in a
federal NOx emissions cap-and-trade program. A
cap-and-trade program is the most cost-effective
approach to reducing interstate ozone transport
by controlling nitrogen oxides emissions.
That program, finalized as part of the Dec.
17, 1999 action, and to be administered by EPA,
will set emission reduction requirements for the
sources identified in the section 126 petitions
and will allow those sources to trade emission
allowances. Sources must implement controls or
use emission allowances to achieve their required
NOx emission reductions by May 1, 2003.
Only sources affected by the 1-hour findings
will be subject to control requirements at this
time. EPA is indefinitely staying its April
technical findings on the 8-hour ozone standard.
EPA is issuing this stay so that it does not take
actions that could be viewed as inconsistent with
decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit that affect the 8-hour standard.
Health
and Environmental Benefits
The Dec. 17, 1999 action will reduce
ground-level ozone in the eastern United States.
Ozone in the lower atmosphere can cause a variety
of health problems because it damages lung
tissue, reduces lung function, and adversely
sensitizes the lungs to other irritants.
This action is expected to reduce respiratory
problems in children by at least 8,000 cases a
year. The number of days adults have to restrict
their activity because of respiratory symptoms
will be reduced by more than 160,000. Lost work
days are expected to drop by nearly 30,000 per
year.
This action also will help reduce acid rain
and visibility problems. The NOx reductions from
this action also will help protect water quality
by reducing the amount of nitrogen reaching water
bodies. Excess nitrogen in water can cause
excessive algal growth. Over time, this excessive
algal growth can contribute to reduced oxygen
levels in the water (eutrophication).
Ground-level ozone also interferes with the
ability of plants to produce and store food,
making them more susceptible to disease, insect
attack, and other pollutants. Ground-level ozone
has been shown to reduce agricultural yields for
many economically important crops (e.g.,
soybeans, kidney beans, wheat, cotton).
Background
In 1997, eight northeastern states filed
petitions with EPA to reduce the transport of
ground-level ozone. The eight states are
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The petitions identified 30 states plus the
District of Columbia as containing sources that
significantly contribute to regional transport of
ozone.
The petitions asked EPA to find that certain
utilities and other sources of nitrogen oxides
significantly contribute to ozone problems in the
eight petitioning states. Nitrogen oxides, which
are byproducts of combustion, are a primary
precursor of ground-level ozone or smog.
All eight petitioning states requested
findings under the 1-hour ozone standard; five
also requested findings under the 8-hour
standard. For each petition, EPA made separate
technical determinations for the 1-hour and
8-hour ozone standards.
In April 1999, EPA issued a final rule
determining that six of the eight petitions could
be approved based solely on technical
considerations under the 1-hour and/or the 8-hour
standards. EPA determined that four petitions
– from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York
and Pennsylvania – were partially approvable
based on the 1-hour standard. However, EPA
postponed making final findings granting those
petitions to give states an opportunity to
respond to EPA’s NOX SIP Call.
In May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit issued two rulings that affected
EPA’s final 126 rule. One decision, which
was modified in October, affects the 8-hour
standard. The other stayed the submission dates
required by the NOX SIP call.
In light of those rulings, EPA proposed in
June to separate the time line for action on the
section 126 petitions from the due dates in the
NOX SIP call. EPA also proposed to stay its
actions on the 8-hour portions of the petitions.
FEDERAL
NOX BUDGET TRADING PROGRAM (CAP AND TRADE)
The Federal NOX Budget Trading Program sets
emissions limits for the affected sources in the
form of NOX “allowances.” One allowance
authorizes the emission of one ton of NOX. Each
source will be allocated a specific number of
allowances per year.
Allowances may be bought, sold or traded
between the affected sources and other private
parties. Trading allows industry flexibility
while ensuring that overall emissions are
reduced. For example, if one company finds the
cost of reducing emissions to be relatively low,
it may be able to reduce its emissions more than
required. That company then could sell or trade
its remaining “allowances” to a company
for which reductions would be more expensive.
Sources also may receive credit for achieving
reductions earlier than required and may
“bank” the resulting allowances for
future use.
EPA is initially allocating NOX allowances to
sources for 2003 through 2007. The initial
allocation is based on heat input. Updated
allocations will be based on output for electric
generating units and probably will be based on
heat input for industrial boilers.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
To download the text of the rule, go to EPA's
World Wide Web site at the following addresses: http://www.epa.gov/oarpg/ramain.html
or http://www.epa.gov/ttn/rto/126.
For general information on this action, please
contact Carla
Oldham, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Air Quality Strategies and Standards
Division, MD-15, Research Triangle Park, NC,
27711, telephone (919) 541-3347.
source: EPA
website
for more info:
Summary
of Dec. 17, 1999 action
North
Carolina facilities affected
Virginia
facilities affected
EPA fact sheet
EPA
Press Release
Ground-level ozone
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