EPA eyes revamp to Trump-era air pollution permit regs - E&E News by POLITICO
EPA eyes revamp to Trump-era air pollution permit regs - E&E News by POLITICO
EPA is planning to toughen some air pollution permit requirements, just as industry groups are predicting that a separate decision to strengthen a key standard will make it much harder to get the go-ahead for new manufacturing and power projects.
Under a draft rule, the agency would revisit a 2020 change to the thresholds for deciding whether a planned plant expansion or other upgrade warrants scrutiny under the New Source Review program, which aims to protect communities from increases in industrial air emissions.
The Trump-era shift to what are known as “project emissions accounting” requirements was backed by industry and opposed by environmental advocates. In 2021, EPA Administrator Michael Regan agreed to pursue new regulations following a petition by several groups. The new, densely technical proposal is aimed at improving implementation and enforceability of the New Source Review program, according to a summary.
“There’s definitely some good stuff” in the proposed rule related to record-keeping and other provisions, Keri Powell, one of the environmental attorneys who brought the petition, said in an email. But Powell added that she would have preferred that EPA drop project emissions accounting altogether as it “adds yet another layer of complexity and another way for new sources to be built without up-to-date air pollution controls.”
Related Knowledge Center: Air emissions
More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.