The EPA this week announced final revisions to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (or NESHAPs for short) and New Source Performance Standards that apply to bulk gasoline storage facilities. Gasoline storage facilities are subject to the NESHAPs because gasoline vapors typically contain substantial amounts of hazardous air pollutants, including benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene. The revised NESHAPs that apply to the Allegheny County operators are part of a larger EPA effort to update standards relevant to gasoline storage and distribution facilities. There are four such facilities in our region that double as major sources of air pollution: LHT – Neville Island Terminal on Neville Island Sunoco Logistics – Pittsburgh Terminal in Lawrenceville Buckeye Terminals – Coraopolis Terminal in Moon Township and Delmont Terminal in Salem Township, Westmoreland County “The revised NESHAPs will require some changes to the standards that apply at the four facilities, and that will reduce the facilities’ emissions of both hazardous air pollutants and smog-forming volatile organic compounds,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie explained. They include: a reduction in the maximum emission rate for total organic compounds during tank loading from 80 milligrams/liter of gas to 35 milligrams/liter required annual leak detection using leak-detecting instruments and “The revised NESHAPs will also require that the measured vapor tightness of older, large gasoline storage tanks be increased, but the four facilities are already subject to the increased standard,” Baillie added. The revised NESHAPs will go into effect on July 8, 2024.

Editor's Note: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 6, 2024 issued a final rule to strengthen, expand, and update these methane emissions reporting requirements for petroleum and natural gas systems under EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. You can read the announcement here. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this month announced a proposed rule designed to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by imposing a charge on that pollution.  The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 26, 2024. First, let’s get some routine background out of the way. A word about methane: EPA has taken aim against these emissions because methane is a potent greenhouse gas and second-leading cause of climate warming. Now some needed info on how - and why - the proposed regs came about. Buckle up, because it’s gonna get a little technical - there’s just no getting around it! Here goes: The proposed rule will be codified, follow, and supplement, section 136 of the Clean Air Act - a relatively new addition signed into law in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Section 136(c) directs the EPA to impose a waste emissions charge on “methane emissions…from an owner of an applicable facility that reports more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gasses emitted per year. Almost every term in Section 136(c) is defined, so there is a lot to unpack here. First, EPA will impose the waste emissions charge only on methane emissions from certain facilities, all of which are part of the petroleum and natural gas industry: Petroleum and natural gas production Nonproduction petroleum and natural gas systems including onshore natural gas processing, onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting, liquefied natural gas storage, and liquefied natural gas import and export equipment and Natural gas transmission including onshore natural gas transmission compression, underground natural gas storage, and onshore natural gas transmission pipelines. The waste emissions charge will not be imposed on facilities outside of the petroleum and natural gas industry (or on non-applicable facilities within that industry) no matter how much methane they emit. Second, EPA will impose the waste emissions charge only on methane emissions. “There will be no charge on emissions of other greenhouse gasses, no matter how much or how little of them a facility otherwise subject to the waste emissions charge might emit,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie explained. Third, EPA will impose the waste emissions charge only on methane emissions that exceed what is referred to as a facility’s waste emissions threshold set by Section 136(f) of the Clean Air Act. Section 136(f) sets the waste emission threshold at: 0.20% of the natural gas sent to sale from petroleum and natural gas production facilities 0.05% of the natural gas sent to sale from or through nonproduction petroleum and natural gas systems and 0.11% of the natural gas sent to sale from or through natural gas transmission facilities. These percentages are to be measured by weight, expressed in metric tons. “It bears mention that natural gas is not typically - or perhaps even ever - sold by weight expressed in metric tons, but rather by volume in terms of cubic feet,” Baillie said. EPA proposes to get around this mismatch by requiring facilities subject to the waste emissions charge to convert threshold amounts expressed in volume to metric tonnage by multiplying by a factor of 0.0192 metric tons per thousand cubic feet of methane. Fourth, EPA will collect the waste emissions charge from facilities in the petroleum and natural gas industry whose emissions of all greenhouse gasses - not just the methane emissions on which the fee is actually to be imposed - exceed 25,000 metric tons per year. “Notably, Section 136 allows the netting of methane emissions across different, but commonly-owned facilities, which may work to reduce the incentive for some owners of affected facilities to reduce their methane emissions,” Baillie added. Now let’s talk about the timeline: The EPA will begin imposing the waste emissions charge on methane emitted in 2024. The owners of applicable facilities who owe waste emissions charges on methane emissions will be required to pay it by March 31, 2025. The waste emissions charge is $900 per metric ton of methane emissions reported in 2024, $1,200 per metric ton reported in 2025, and $1,500 per metric ton reported in 2026 and thereafter. In the meantime, Section 136 will also provide $1.55 billion in funding to help reduce the petroleum and gas industry’s methane emissions and improve the monitoring and reporting of such emissions. Of that, $700 million is specifically earmarked for marginal conventional wells, and the remaining $850 million presumably will be available to anyone in the petroleum and natural gas industry. Because the waste emissions charge is required by statute, the EPA is not obligated to provide a cost-benefit analysis for its proposed rule implementing it. “The EPA also provided no estimate in support of the proposed rule regarding how much the waste emissions charge is expected to reduce the petroleum and natural gas industry’s methane emissions, no prediction of what the impact of that reduction will be on global warming, and no estimate on how much it will impact energy supplies and prices,” Baillie said. EPA is accepting comments on the proposed rule implementing the WEC through March 11.  Written comments can be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0434. EPA will also hold a virtual public hearing regarding its proposed rule on Feb. 12.  You can register to speak at the virtual public hearing by following this link.

This week’s unseasonably warm temperatures have come with unreasonably putrid air quality conditions: Today is the fifth straight day that concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the Mon Valley have exceeded Pennsylvania’s 24-hour average standard. The total tally for 2024 now stands at 43. At this time last year, there were 39. “It’s not just the number of exceedances that we have been experiencing that concern us,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “So do the spikes recorded at the Liberty monitor and the fact that this issue persists despite millions of dollars in assessed fines against U.S. Steel over the past few years for such exceedances - as well as mandates that the company craft an action plan to address them.” What’s being done to address the issue? No clue. That’s because despite the sometimes days-long episodes of stench, the Allegheny County Health Department - our local air quality regulator- has issued no public updates addressing the issue, what’s driving the alarmingly high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, and what’s being done to solve the problem. Zero. What we do know is that enough is enough. Residents deserve answers. And we’re hoping you can join GASP, residents and fellow advocates at the upcoming Allegheny County Board of Health meeting to demand them. We know that the time for transparency is now. Because hydrogen sulfide isn’t a new problem - the air pollutant with the distinctive rotten-egg odor is a longtime local nemesis. We know that for years, residents in the Mon Valley and beyond have been subject to H2S concentrations high enough to cause irritation to the eyes, nose, or throat and that have been linked to headaches, poor memory, tiredness, and balance problems according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Low concentrations of H2S may also cause difficulty in breathing for some asthmatics. And we know who needs to be held to account: U.S. Steel. According to a 31-page study conducted by the Allegheny County Health Department, years’ worth of H2S exceedances in the Mon Valley “can be attributed entirely” to emissions from the company’s Clairton Coke Works facility. We implore folks whose health and quality of life has been impacted by these ongoing air quality violations to sign up to speak at the May 8 board of health meeting. Residents who sign up to speak get three minutes to address the board. The deadline to register is 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The link to sign up is here. Can’t make it but wanna give them a piece of your mind? We get it: Board of health meetings are held in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh - they aren’t the easiest gatherings to get to. So if you still want to weigh in, we encourage you to submit written comments via ACHD’s contact form here. These comments go directly to board of health members and those received by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday will be summarized verbally at the meeting. “Let’s send a clear message to public health leaders that we are sick and tired of being in the dark on what they are doing to solve a years-long public health issue,” Campbell said. Editor's Note: We have background info + talking points for those who would like to provide verbal or written comments.

Every spring, we investigate whether applications for Title V Operating Permits – which are required by the Clean Air Act for the biggest polluters - are being issued promptly by the government regulators like the Allegheny County Health Department and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and report on what we find. This year’s report is currently in the works, but there has been a development with a long-delayed permit renewal application that we wanted to let you know about right away. In the April 13, edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, DEP published notice that it intends to renew the Title V Operating Permit for the Arden Landfill, located in Chartiers Township, Washington County. “This grabbed our attention because the initial Title V Operating Permit for the Arden Landfill expired on May 7, 2006, and has never been renewed,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie said. The landfill has continued to operate under the terms of the expired permit (yes, this is authorized by the Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania’s air quality regulations) and several plan approvals that authorized changes to its operations since. “The renewed Title V Operating Permit will at long last consolidate all applicable requirements from those plan approvals and federal and state law into one document, which should make it easier to DEP to enforce those requirements and for interested citizens to check on the landfill’s compliance with them,” Baillie explained. Our review of the Arden Landfill’s draft Title V Operating Permit is ongoing, but you can see DEP’s draft permit and review memorandum here and here. Editor’s Note: If you have comments regarding the draft permit, DEP will accept them by U.S. Mail through Monday, May 13, addressed to: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office 400 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA  15222 Attn:  Noor Nahar, Air Quality Engineer

Today we’re gonna talk about revisions to air quality standards - specifically the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, known as NAAQS for short. Little background: The Clean Air Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a list of air pollutants that threaten the public health or welfare and establish primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for those pollutants. “The primary NAAQS are intended to protect human health and the secondary standards are to protect public welfare, meaning essentially, ecosystems, property, and crops,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie explained. The act further requires that EPA review the NAAQS from time to time and revise them as necessary. Once a NAAQS is established or revised, it generally falls to the states (subject to approval by EPA) to set rules and regulations that are sufficient to attain the standard within their borders. The primary NAAQS receive the bulk of attention from EPA, environmental advocates, regulators, and industry. Indeed, we just blogged about EPA’s recent decision to revise the primary NAAQS for fine particulate matter. Once in a while, however, EPA turns its attention to the secondary NAAQS - and we do mean “in a while.” The existing secondary NAAQS for SO2 was established way back in 1971. This is happening now: On April 15, 2024, EPA proposed to retain the secondary NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter, while substantially revising the secondary NAAQS for sulfur dioxide (SO2). Here’s what you need to know: The existing secondary NAAQS for SO2 requires levels in the ambient air not to exceed 500 parts per billion (ppb) during any three-hour period more than once per year The proposed revision to the standard would require that the annual average of SO2 levels in the ambient air not exceed 10-15 ppb, measured over a three-year period. “Yes, that’s a 97-98 percent reduction from the existing standard’s benchmark measured over a three-year period,” Baillie added. What would this mean for our area? According to the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Annual Air Quality Reports for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 (the most recent three years for which ACHD has published such reports), it appears that exceedances of the proposed new standard were measured at air quality monitors located in Liberty Borough and North Braddock, while the air monitored at Lawrenceville and South Fayette would attain the proposed revised standard: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) monitors ambient air quality in areas in our region outside of Allegheny County and operates SO2 monitors in Charleroi and Florence in Washington County, Johnstown in Cambria County, and Strongstown in Indiana County. Although DEP does not publish a report like ACHD’s disclosing annual average SO2 concentrations measured at those monitors, it seems likely the monitor at Strongstown at least will not attain the revised secondary NAAQS for SO2 – as we blogged in February, areas near Strongstown that are also downwind of the cluster of coal-burning power plants in Indiana and Westmoreland Counties do not attain the primary NAAQS for SO2. “The failure to attain the primary SO2 standard with its 75 ppb benchmark suggests that attainment of the secondary standard, with its lower 10-15 ppb benchmark, will be problematic,” Baillie said. Accordingly, it appears that both ACHD and DEP will be required to take steps to bring all areas under their jurisdiction into attainment of the revised secondary NAAQS for SO2. Assuming that EPA eventually finalizes the revised secondary NAAQS for SO2, we will follow the efforts by ACHD and DEP to develop plans to attain the revised standard and keep you posted on them here. Editor’s Note: In the meantime, you can read EPA’s proposal to revise the secondary NAAQS for SO2 (and retain the existing secondary standards for oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter) here. EPA is accepting comments on its proposal through June 14. You can submit comments by any of the following means - you should reference Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-1028 on any comments that you submit. Federal eRulemaking Portal:  https://www.regulations.gov/. Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. U.S. Mail:  addressed to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

In honor of Earth Week, your pals at the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) encourage you to check out the relaunch of one of our most popular online resources: Our Title V Air Permits Clearinghouse. The importance of Title V permits has been in the news quite a bit over the past year. For example, thanks to appeals from groups like GASP, the EPA ordered local regulators to send back to the drawing board U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Why? Because it lacked key provisions expected to help it comply with air pollution regulations in place to protect public health. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit, aren’t we? Let’s take a step back and tell you all about what the heck a Title V permit is and why folks should care about them. Title V of the Clean Air Act requires Major Sources of air pollution to obtain operating permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state or local agency that EPA has authorized to issue these permits. Major Sources in Allegheny County are permitted by the Allegheny County Health Department; those in surrounding counties are permitted by the DEP. A Major Source is defined as one that has the potential to emit at least 100 tons per year of any air pollutant, 10 tons per year of any single hazardous air pollutant, or 25 tons per year of any combination of hazardous air pollutants. A Title V Operating Permit includes all emissions limits and standards to which a source is subject, as well as all operating, monitoring and reporting requirements that apply at the time of a permit’s issuance. By including all requirements in one document, these permits help source operators comply with those regulations. They also help regulators and members of the public enforce them – all with the ultimate goal of reducing air pollution. ​ ​Members of the public are also able to weigh in before these permits are finalized: Draft Title V operating permits are subject to a public comment period, allowing residents and others to address deficiencies, concerns, and other issues. Public comment periods are also required when major changes are made to a Title V operating permit. Now that you know what Title V permits are and how you can use them to educate yourself about the major sources of pollution in your community, head on over to our interactive map of major sources of air pollution in Allegheny County and 11 surrounding counties. Just click on the facility you wanna know more about to access its permit and other supporting documents. Our database also includes helpful links to resources from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). So, stop by, get your learn on, and let us know if you have any questions about our newly streamlined clearinghouse. Just hit us up at amanda@gasp-pgh.org. Happy reading!

We have some great news for your Earth Day! The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority has been selected to receive more than $156 million through the Solar for All grant competition to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable under-resourced and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. This award is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under the Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis. In Pennsylvania, $159 million will be awarded to the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority as the lead applicant of a two-member coalition that includes the Philadelphia Green Capital Corporation, the non-profit green bank affiliate of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. The award will provide residential solar technology, associated storage, and enable upgrades to households in under-resourced and disadvantaged communities throughout Pennsylvania. “The allotment of millions of dollars in grants to fund solar projects in under-resourced communities is HUGE,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “This funding could be instrumental in helping to expand access to clean energy in communities disproportionately burdened by climate change and rising energy costs. It could do a lot of good here in western Pennsylvania.” A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website. The Solar for All program also advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. All of the funds awarded through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities. EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will: generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved. EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024. Editor’s Note: EPA will host informational webinars as part of the program's commitment to public transparency. EPA has scheduled a public webinar for the Solar for All program, and registration details are included below. Information on other GGRF webinars can be found on EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Engagement Opportunities webpage.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the launch of the nearly $1 billion Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program to fund the replacement of certain polluting heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission vehicles. Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA will award competitive grants for projects that will: reduce climate and air pollution from heavy-duty vehicles support good-paying jobs and improve air quality for communities across the country, particularly those overburdened by air pollutio The 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will support the adoption and deployment of eligible zero-emission vehicles while also funding zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure and workforce development and training. Across the nation, more than 3 million such vehicles are currently in use, spanning a wide variety of vehicle types and vocations, including school buses, refuse haulers, and utility and delivery trucks. The Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will help advance the Justice40 Initiative, which sets the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments in climate, clean energy, and other areas flow to disadvantaged communities overburdened by pollution, including air pollution. Most of the vehicles eligible for replacement are powered by internal combustion engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards. These vehicles emit harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxide, fine particulate matter, and greenhouse gasses. Pollution from these vehicles is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease, among other serious health problems. Children, older adults, those with preexisting cardiopulmonary disease, and those of lower socioeconomic status are particularly vulnerable and are at a higher risk for these health impacts. The implementation of the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program is designed to help applicants across the country transition to zero-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution, which will result in improved health outcomes, less noise pollution, and the creation of good-paying clean energy jobs. To meet the needs of diverse potential recipients and encourage participation in this grant opportunity, EPA is providing two separate sub-program competitions under this single Notice of Funding Opportunity: The School Bus Sub-Program for applicants replacing school buses. The Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program for applicants replacing non-school bus Class 6 and 7 vehicles – including box trucks, refuse haulers, dump trucks, street sweepers, delivery trucks, bucket trucks, and utility trucks. EPA anticipates approximately: 70% of available funding will be for projects under the School Bus Sub-Program and approximately 30% of available funding will be for projects under the Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program. Eligible applicants for both competitions include States, municipalities (including school districts), Indian Tribes, territories, and nonprofit school transportation associations. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act statute requires that at least $400 million of the program's funding go to projects that will serve one or more communities dealing with significant pollution as defined by EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This funding opportunity builds on the success of previous programs implemented by EPA, including the historic Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program, which reduces harmful emissions from older diesel engines, and the Clean School Bus Program, which funds clean and electric school buses under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Additionally, EPA recently announced the launch of the $3 billion Clean Ports Program to help tackle emissions from ports, including the movement of heavy-duty vehicles both in and out of communities surrounding U.S. ports. “This is such welcome news,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “We know the transportation sector is the single-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and a leading source of health-harming air pollution. This investment is part of a paradigm shift that prioritizes our environment and public health and GASP is here for it.” The deadline to apply for the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program is July 25, 2024. EPA expects to announce awards by the end of this year. Editor’s Note: To learn more about the program, eligibility, selection process, and informational webinar dates, please visit the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program webpage.

Even more good news for your Earth Week: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants in order to protect all communities from pollution and improve public health without disrupting the delivery of reliable electricity. The suite of final rules includes: A final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants that would ensure that all coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution. A final rule strengthening and updating the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67 percent and finalizing a 70 percent reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources. A final rule to reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year, ensuring cleaner water for affected communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns that are disproportionately impacted. A final rule that will require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now, including at previously used disposal areas that may leak and contaminate groundwater. GASP today lauded the announcement. “These rules will make real strides in cutting climate pollution and protecting public health and our environment. We thank EPA for responding to the urgent need for climate action,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “This is a much-needed step forward in cleaning up our air and water - especially in communities living in the shadow of fossil fuel plants. The rule addresses existing coal-fired power plants, which continue to be the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, and ensures that new natural gas combustion turbines, some of the largest new sources of greenhouse gasses being built today, are designed using modern technologies to reduce climate pollution. The climate and health benefits of this rule substantially outweigh the compliance costs. In 2035 alone, the regulatory impact analysis estimates substantial health co-benefits including: Up to 1,200 avoided premature deaths 870 avoided hospital and emergency room visits 1,900 avoided cases of asthma onset 360,000 avoided cases of asthma symptoms 48,000 avoided school absence days 57,000 lost workdays The final emission standards and guidelines will achieve substantial reductions in carbon pollution at reasonable cost. The best system of emission reduction for the longest-running existing coal units and most heavily utilized new gas turbines is based on carbon capture and sequestration/storage (CCS) – an available and cost-reasonable emission control technology that can be applied directly to power plants and can reduce 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from the plants. The standard also requires states to provide transparent data on compliance pathways and timelines through the state planning process, ensuring that workers and communities have the best-available information to plan for changes in the sector. To view the fact sheet for this rulemaking visit EPA's Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants webpage. We also wanted to highlight that the EPA is strengthening and updating the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, achieving important hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions reductions and ensuring that the standards reflect the latest advancement in pollution control technologies. EPA projects the final rule will reduce emissions of mercury and non-mercury metal HAPs, such as nickel, arsenic, and lead. Controlling these emissions from power plants improves public health for all Americans by reducing the risk of fatal heart attacks, cancer, developmental delays in children, and also reduces adverse environmental impacts. The final rule will also result in substantial co-benefits, including reductions in emissions of fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide nationwide. The final rule reduces the mercury emissions limit by 70 percent for lignite-fired units and reduces the emissions limit that controls for toxic metals by 67 percent for all coal plants—while also requiring the use of continuous emission monitoring systems to provide real-time, accurate data to ensure that plants are meeting these lower limits and communities are protected year-round from pollution exposure. EPA's final rule projects $300 million in health benefits and $130 million in climate benefits over the 10-year period from 2028-2037. Editor’s Note: You can read the EPA’s entire press release on the suite of rules here.

A little more than a year-and-a-half ago, we blogged about the Clean Data Determination that the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made regarding Allegheny County’s attainment of the 2012 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5. By that determination, EPA confirmed that data from the air quality monitors in Allegheny County showed that all areas of the county met the 2012 NAAQS for fine particulate matter. Following EPA’s clean data determination, ACHD submitted a formal request that the county at long last be reclassified as attainment for the 2012 NAAQS for PM2.5. Then, at the latest Air Pollution Advisory Committee meeting April 15, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) said it plans to withdraw that request. And it’s not because pollution in the county has worsened enough to prevent attainment, but because of EPA’s recent decision to revise that NAAQS downward, from 12 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 9 µg/m3. Although all areas of the county have attained the 12 µg/m3 standard for several years, it appears that ACHD’s air quality monitors near U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works do not attain the new 9 µg/m3 standard. What are the implications of ACHD’s decision to withdraw its request for an attainment designation? They are not likely to be significant. Some background about the Clean Air Act might be helpful for understanding why: It requires that all areas in the United States be classified as being in attainment or nonattainment of each NAAQS. The state, local, and tribal agencies that administer the air pollution laws in areas that are nonattainment for a particular NAAQS must submit plans to EPA that generally include tighter controls on pollution sources that are designed to bring the areas into attainment of the NAAQS and special rules for new major sources of air pollution in or impacting the area. “All existing requirements related to nonattainment of the NAAQS for PM2.5 must remain on the books pending EPA’s formal reclassification of the county to attainment; as a practical matter, such requirements remain on the books even after an attainment designation because they are necessary to keep the area in attainment,” GASP senior attorney John Baillie explained. So, this means that ACHD’s withdrawal of its request for an attainment designation will maintain the status quo. The existing air pollution rules and regulations in Allegheny County will remain in force and any new major sources of PM2.5 in or impacting Allegheny County will continue to be subject to stricter pre-construction permitting rules that pertain to nonattainment area (although we are not aware that any such sources are proposed). “This will be the case until ACHD develops, and then implements, any new rules that are needed to attain the revised 9 µg/m3 standard,” Baillie said. “The development and implementation of any such rules will occur over the upcoming years not months; it is even possible - at least theoretically - that ACHD’s air quality monitors will measure attainment of the revised NAAQS by the time EPA makes attainment designations for it, which could eliminate the need for more controls.” In the meantime, we’ll continue to follow developments that flow from the revision of the NAAQS for PM2.5 and keep you posted on them here. Stay tuned.