Climate Change Impacts on Regional Air Quality Report Just Released by EPA

(Washington, D.C. – April 17, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a report on the potential impacts of climate change on regional U.S. air quality. The information contained in the report will enhance our ability as a nation to protect air quality and human health.

The report, “Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone,” concludes that there is a potential for climate change to make ozone pollution worse in some regions and that future ozone management decisions may need to account for the possible impacts of climate change.

Climate change has the potential to produce increases in ground-level ozone in many regions. Ground-level ozone is formed in the presence of sunlight by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from sources like motor vehicles and industrial facilities. Climate change also could increase the number of days with weather conditions conducive to forming ozone, potentially causing air quality alerts earlier in the spring and later in the fall.

The Global Change Research Program in EPA’s Office of Research and Development led the development of the peer-reviewed report, which was done in partnership with EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. The report combines the results of new EPA-funded and existing scientific research and acknowledges that uncertainty remains over the specific regional patterns of climate change induced ground-level ozone changes.

More information on the report: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=203459

More information on EPA Office of Research and Development’s Global Change Research Program: http://www.epa.gov/ord/npd/globalresearch-intro.htm

EPA Launches New Campaign to Educate Kids on Fighting Climate Change

(Washington, D.C. - April 16, 2009) With Earth Day only a few days away, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is kicking off the 2009 “Change the World, Start with Energy Star” campaign to educate kids and their families about how to save money and fight climate change through energy efficiency.

“People of every age have a part to play in confronting climate change,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Using Energy Star to cut electricity usage and costs, and educating young people and their families to make a difference -- big or small -- is how we make real progress.”

As part of the campaign, people take the Energy Star pledge to take steps to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The pledge includes switching to more efficient lighting, choosing Energy Star when purchasing new products, sealing and insulating homes, and using power management features on home computers and monitors. These steps can add up to big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions because households and buildings – both commercial and industrial – account for more than half of the nation’s emissions of carbon dioxide due to the use of fossil-based electricity and other energy. If every American household took part in the Energy Star pledge, we would save more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars.

This year, EPA is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Parent-Teacher Organizations Today to work with America’s youth in the fight against climate change. Boys & Girls Clubs of America will engage its young members in service projects to educate youth and their communities about the benefits of energy efficiency.

“As an organization with more than 4,300 community-based Clubs, we are genuinely concerned about the environment and our responsibility to preserve and protect it,” said Boys & Girls Club of America President/CEO Roxanne Spillett. “We look forward to working with EPA to educate and encourage the young people we serve to be more energy efficient and environmentally conscious, identifying ways they can make a difference in their respective communities.”

PTO Today will feature “Go Green Nights” for the nation’s parent-teacher organizations to engage youth and families in learning about energy efficiency and changes they can make in their homes and schools that will save energy and protect the environment.

“Protecting our environment and ensuring a healthy future is a passion for America’s school kids and their families”, said Tim Sullivan, founder & president, PTO Today. “On behalf of school Moms and Dads across the country, PTO Today is proud to partner with the EPA on Go Green Night. We’ll be bringing environmental education and Energy Star’s simple, practical environmental solutions to families in a fun atmosphere right at their local schools. It’s parent involvement at its best on a key 21st Century issue.”

To date, more than two million Americans have taken the Energy Star pledge, making real commitments to energy efficiency and the environment. More than 685 local and national organizations like the National Association of Counties, TIAA-CREF, ComEd, Georgia Power, and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program are leading efforts to encourage their communities to take the pledge and do their part to protect the environment.

More information on the campaign: http://www.energystar.gov/changetheworld

EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Pose Threat to Public Health, Welfare

Proposed Finding Comes in Response to 2007 Supreme Court Ruling

(Washington, D.C. – April 17, 2009) After a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed finding Friday that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare.

The proposed finding, which now moves to a public comment period, identified six greenhouse gases that pose a potential threat.

“This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations. Fortunately, it follows President Obama’s call for a low carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation,” said Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This pollution problem has a solution – one that will create millions of green jobs and end our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

As the proposed endangerment finding states, “In both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem. The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act.”

EPA’s proposed endangerment finding is based on rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis of six gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride – that have been the subject of intensive analysis by scientists around the world. The science clearly shows that concentrations of these gases are at unprecedented levels as a result of human emissions, and these high levels are very likely the cause of the increase in average temperatures and other changes in our climate.

The scientific analysis also confirms that climate change impacts human health in several ways. Findings from a recent EPA study titled “Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone,” for example, suggest that climate change may lead to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, a harmful pollutant. Additional impacts of climate change include, but are not limited to:

· increased drought;
· more heavy downpours and flooding;
· more frequent and intense heat waves and wildfires;
· greater sea level rise;
· more intense storms; and
· harm to water resources, agriculture, wildlife and ecosystems.

In proposing the finding, Administrator Jackson also took into account the disproportionate impact climate change has on the health of certain segments of the population, such as the poor, the very young, the elderly, those already in poor health, the disabled, those living alone and/or indigenous populations dependent on one or a few resources.

In addition to threatening human health, the analysis finds that climate change also has serious national security implications. Consistent with this proposed finding, in 2007, 11 retired U.S. generals and admirals signed a report from the Center for a New American Security stating that climate change “presents significant national security challenges for the United States.” Escalating violence in destabilized regions can be incited and fomented by an increasing scarcity of resources – including water. This lack of resources, driven by climate change patterns, then drives massive migration to more stabilized regions of the world.

The proposed endangerment finding now enters the public comment period, which is the next step in the deliberative process EPA must undertake before issuing final findings. Today’s proposed finding does not include any proposed regulations. Before taking any steps to reduce greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, EPA would conduct an appropriate process and consider stakeholder input. Notwithstanding this required regulatory process, both President Obama and Administrator Jackson have repeatedly indicated their preference for comprehensive legislation to address this issue and create the framework for a clean energy economy.

More information: http://epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment.html

Study Finds Environmental Education Programs Lead to Cleaner Air

National Environmental Education Week: April 12-18

(Washington, D.C. – April 13, 2009) A first of its kind study funded by EPA shows that environmental education programs are an effective tool in helping to improve air quality in North America.

"This study shows a valuable connection between better environmental education and cleaner air in our communities," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "With the right information, people can make a real difference in the places where they live, work, play and learn."

Nearly half of the surveyed institutions hosting education programs reported an improvement in air quality at their facilities due to actions taken by students, including doing service-learning projects and fostering community partnerships. Examples include decreased levels of carbon monoxide and mold, and enactment of a policy that decreased car or bus idling. An additional 43 percent of the surveyed programs reported some kind of action was taken to improve the environment.

Some examples include:
· East Valley Middle School (Wash.) where students monitored school indoor air quality and worked with school administrators to implement structural cha nges resulting in improved carbon dioxide, air flow, particulate levels, odors and mold.
· Exeter High School (N.H.) where students studied air quality issues and monitored car pooling and bus idling in the school drop-off area, leading to a no-idling policy and installation of no-idling signs.
· Greater Egleston Community High (Mass.) where student actions helped lead to the installation of a local air quality monitoring station, a change in fuels by city buses, and city-wide bus idling restrictions.

EPA worked with the National Park Service Conservation Study Institute, Shelburne Farms, and a group of environmental researchers, educators and psychologists to complete the study. Information on the study: http://www.epa.gov/education/

EPA Names Priority Schools for Monitoring Toxic Outdoor Air Pollution

In an unprecedented effort to help protect children from toxic air pollution around schools, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced a list of schools that will undergo outdoor air monitoring.

“As a mother, I understand that concerned parents deserve this information as quickly as we can gather and analyze it,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “EPA, state, and local officials are mobilizing to determine where elevated levels of toxics pose a threat, so that we can take swift action to protect our children at their schools.”

EPA, state and local agencies will work together to monitor air toxics around 62 schools in 22 states that are located near large industrial facilities or in urban areas. EPA identified these schools for monitoring based on information that raised questions about air quality. That information included the best data available to EPA scientists about air pollution in the vicinity of schools, results of a computer modeling analysis, results from a recent newspaper analysis, and information from state and local air agencies.

Depending on the availability of staff and equipment, monitoring at some schools on the list will begin almost immediately; other schools will begin monitoring over the next 60 to 90 days. State and local air agencies will install and operate the monitors, while EPA will purchase the monitors and pay for laboratory analysis.

State and local agencies will take periodic samples of the air around the schools for a 60-day period. EPA will analyze the results of the monitoring and share the information with the schools and the public. EPA will use the information gathered in this initiative to determine how best to move forward, which could require additional monitoring or enforcement action where appropriate.

EPA and states will work with school communities to ensure they understand the monitoring results. In addition to monitoring the outdoor air quality, EPA also will help interested schools improve the quality of their indoor air.

To learn more about this program and to view the list of schools that are part of the monitoring initiative: http://www.epa.gov/schoolair

EPA Launches Interactive Web Tools in Celebration of Earth Month

EPA to Public: Earth Day is Every Day

(Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2009) The first Earth Day started 39 years ago when 20 million Americans decided we needed to do something about our environment. To begin Earth Month, EPA is launching several on-line communication tools to help educate Americans about how to protect their health and their environment.

Here is a list of several interactive tools that are currently available on EPA's Earth Day site: http://www.epa.gov/earthday

- Daily environmental tips via email: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips.htm

- Put the environmental tips widget on your own Web page, blog, or social networking profile: http://www.epa.gov/widgets/

- Listen to the daily audio tip podcast from EPA employees around the country. The podcast will be available for download and for free subscription on iTunes: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/podcasts/

- Join us around the country or get our take home kit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm

- Share your photo and video creativity in several categories. We’ll feature entries on our Earth Day site all month: http://epa.gov/earthday/photoproject/ and http://epa.gov/earthday/videoproject/

Share your thoughts with our writers in Greenversations: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/

EPA Awards $3.5 Million in Grants for Particulate Matter Research

(Washington, D.C. – April 3, 2009) EPA awarded four grants to universities to research the relationship between the chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) and health effects. PM is a complex mixture that consists of direct emissions and reaction products formed in the atmosphere.

“These EPA Science To Achieve Results grants will build bridges between two different research communities – epidemiology and air quality engineering,” said Lek Kadeli, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development. "The collaboration of expert researchers in both fields could result in major advances in data, methods, and tools available to link health problems with sources and components of air pollution."

Grants were awarded to:

- Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga, $899,956
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., $893,439
- University of California, Davis, Calif., $900,000
- University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, $899,401

The health effects of exposure to ambient PM include premature death, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravated asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function, and increased risk of heart attacks.

More information on grants: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/07innovpm/

U.S. Proposes to Slash Harmful Ship Emissions Along the Nation’s Coastlines to Save Lives

(Washington, D.C. – March 30, 2009) The United States took a critical step towards protecting Americans from harmful ship emissions by becoming the first country to ask the International Maritime Organization to create an emissions control area (ECA) around the nation’s coastline, the EPA announced today at a joint news conference with the Coast Guard and New Jersey elected officials.

According to the EPA’s data, the creation of an ECA would save up to 8,300 American and Canadian lives every year by 2020 by imposing stricter standards on oil tankers and other large ships that spew harmful emissions into the air near coastal communities where tens of millions of Americans live, work, play and learn. The United States is proposing a 230-mile buffer zone around the nation’s coastline in order to provide air quality benefits as far inland as Kansas.

“This is an important – and long overdue – step in our efforts to protect the air and water along our shores, and the health of the people in our coastal communities,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We want to ensure the economic strength of our port cities at the same time that we take responsible steps to protect public health and the environment in the United States and across the globe.”

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said, “We have known for a long time that our families that live around ports have a higher rate of respiratory illness, including cancer. EPA’s announcement today is music to my ears because it means the United States is stepping forward to take a strong leadership role on clean air around ports.”

Under this program, large ships such as oil tankers and cargo ships that operate in ECAs will face stricter emissions standards designed to reduce the threat they pose to human health and the environment. These standards will cut sulfur in fuel by 98 percent, particulate matter emissions by 85 percent, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent from the current global requirements.

To achieve these reductions, ships must use fuel with no more than 1,000 parts per million sulfur beginning in 2015, and new ships must used advanced emission control technologies beginning in 2016.

Air pollution from ships is expected to grow rapidly as controls on other mobile sources take effect and port traffic increases. Ocean-going vessels, which are primarily foreign owned and operated, dock at more than 100 U.S. ports, more than 40 of which are in metropolitan areas that fail to meet federal air quality standards.

EPA led the U.S. effort to develop the proposal in coordination with federal partners such as the Coast Guard, State Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Canada joined the U.S. as a co-proposer on the ECA proposal, advancing a strategy for a coordinated geographic emissions control program.

The proposal, submitted to the IMO on Friday, March 27, is one part of a comprehensive EPA program to address harmful emissions from ocean going vessels under the National Clean Diesel Campaign and the Clean Ports Program. Other elements include adoption of a Clean Air Act rulemaking process, which EPA plans to finalize this year.

The IMO, a United Nations agency, will begin reviewing the proposal in July. Approval of the proposal could occur as soon as next year. More information on the proposal: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/oceanvessels.htm

EPA Announces $211 Million of Recovery Act Funding Available to Reduce Diesel Emissions, Spur Redevelopment, Create Jobs

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas will receive funding to create jobs to help the public breathe cleaner air and support brownfields

State and local governments, nonprofit organizations and tribal agencies can now apply for up to an estimated $211 million in funding that will help create jobs for redevelopment nationwide and protect communities and the environment from diesel emissions. This is EPA funding available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 that President Obama signed into law Feb. 17, 2009.

Diesel grantees will use the total estimated $206 million to implement clean diesel projects that would cut thousands of tons of diesel emissions, including particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. As a result, the projects would also reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.

The Recovery Act will send about $10 million to states in EPA region 6 to reduce emissions from diesel engines and significantly reduce diesel air pollution. Programs that help get older, more polluting engines and vehicles off the road have been essential to assisting urban cities in achieving clean air goals. The Blue Skyways Collaborative is the primary clean diesel program for region 6 which develops public-private partnerships to reduce air pollution in North America's central corridor. With its 154 partners, the Blue Skyways Collaborative has been extremely successful in saving 36 million gallons of fuel per year, 1.3 million tons of greenhouse gases per year and reducing toxic air pollutants by 44,308 tons per year. Last year, the Collaborative awarded about $4 million, gained 25 members, and increased diesel engine retrofits from 11,742 to 12,742.

Brownfields grantees will use the total estimated $5 million to provide training for jobs and to facilitate job creation in the assessment, remediation, or preparation of brownfields sites for sustainable reuse. EPA anticipates awarding 10-12 cooperative agreements, whose maximum value each shall not exceed $500,000.

EPA’s brownfields program is a proven, results-oriented program and the Recovery Act funding helps take this successful program to more communities across our five state region.

The City of Camden in Arkansas is a perfect example of how the Brownfields jobs program helps communities. In Camden, the city government plans to use its Brownfields job training funds to recruit recent graduates from Camden and surrounding counties and place at least 19 of them in environmental technician jobs. The City will also certify and place 12 other graduates in environmental jobs after they undergo a critical training program. For this program, the City of Camden will work in conjunction with Southern Arkansas University Tech and the Arkansas Workforce Center to conduct three, 344-hour instruction cycles which will include courses in groundwater remediation, disposal of remediated waste, and asbestos supervision.

The Recovery Act job training competitive grants announced today will help other communities replicate Camden's program to train professionals and create skilled jobs that further EPA's mission to protect people where they live, work, learn and play.

Preference will be given to projects that can be started and completed expeditiously. EPA plans to provide the funding in June.

Additional information on EPA Region 6 recovery activities is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/eparecovery/index.htm

To learn more about national American Recovery and Reinvestment Act efforts, please visit http://www.recovery.gov/

EPA Proposes First National Reporting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(Washington, D.C. – March 10, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the first comprehensive national system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by major sources in the United States.

“Our efforts to confront climate change must be guided by the best possible information,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Through this new reporting, we will have comprehensive and accurate data about the production of greenhouse gases. This is a critical step toward helping us better protect our health and environment – all without placing an onerous burden on our nation’s small businesses.”

In developing the reporting requirements, EPA considered the substantial amount of work already completed and underway in many states, regions and voluntary programs.

Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, are produced by the burning of fossil fuels and through industrial and biological processes. Approximately 13,000 facilities, accounting for about 85 percent to 90 percent of greenhouse gases emitted in the United States, would be covered under the proposal.

The new reporting requirements would apply to suppliers of fossil fuel and industrial chemicals, manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines, as well as large direct emitters of greenhouse gases with emissions equal to or greater than a threshold of 25,000 metric tons per year. This threshold is roughly equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from just over 4,500 passenger vehicles. The vast majority of small businesses would not be required to report their emissions because their emissions fall well below the threshold.

The direct emission sources covered under the reporting requirement would include energy intensive sectors such as cement production, iron and steel production, and electricity generation, among others.

The first annual report would be submitted to EPA in 2011 for the calendar year 2010, except for vehicle and engine manufacturers, which would begin reporting for model year 2011.

EPA estimates that the expected cost to comply with the reporting requirements to the private sector would be $160 million for the first year. In subsequent years, the annualized costs for the private sector would be $127 million.

EPA is developing this rule under the authority of the Clean Air Act. The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Two public hearings will be held during the comment period.

More information on the proposed rule: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

(Washington, D.C. – March 4, 2009) EPA is seeking public comment on the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2007 draft report. This report will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published.

The draft report shows that overall emissions during 2007 increased by 1.4 percent from the previous year. This trend was due primarily to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption. The total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were about 7,125 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Overall, emissions have grown by 17.1 percent from 1990 to 2007.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2007 at the national level. The gases covered by this inventory include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by “sinks,” e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation, and soils.

This annual report is prepared by EPA in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies. After responding to public comments, the U.S. government will submit the final inventory report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report will fulfill the annual requirement of the UNFCCC international treaty, ratified by the United States in 1992, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.

Information on the draft report and how to submit public comments: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html

Jackson Announces EPA Schools Monitoring Initiative

Administrator Jackson: ‘Our job is to protect the American public where they live, work and play – and that certainly includes protecting schoolchildren where they learn.’


Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced today a new initiative to further measure levels of toxic air pollution near many schools across the country for better protection. EPA and its state partners will prioritize and monitor schools for more extensive air quality analysis, looking closely at schools located near large industries and in urban areas.

“I’m a mother first, and like all parents, I want to be sure my children are breathing healthy air at school,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Questions have been raised about air quality around some U.S. schools, and those questions merit investigation. EPA will work quickly to make assessments and take swift action where necessary. Our job is to protect the American public where they live, work and play – and that certainly includes protecting schoolchildren where they learn.”

Administrator Jackson has outlined an aggressive timeline for prioritizing and monitoring schools to determine any which are exposed to high levels of toxic air pollution. EPA anticipates monitoring at some schools will begin within the next 30 days. Directed by EPA, the monitoring will be conducted primarily by state and local governments. Some states have already begun monitoring.

Recent media reports have raised critical questions about air quality outside schools near large industrial facilities. At Administrator Jackson’s confirmation hearings, she was asked about this issue by Congress and pledged to take swift action to investigate and remediate if necessary any potential high-risk exposure for our nation’s school children.

EPA will work with states, tribes, and local communities to ensure that monitors are deployed quickly to get high-quality data and to share results with American families. This partnership will help EPA maximize its monitoring and analytical capabilities to develop a clearer picture of any potential risks to children from toxic air pollution. This action is particularly critical in some low-income areas, which are sometimes disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation.

From 1990 to 2005, emissions of air toxics in the United States declined 41 percent. Levels of air toxics, however, can vary widely from place to place depending upon a number of factors including the amount and types of industry nearby, proximity to heavily traveled or congested roadways, and weather patterns.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/air/toxicair/newtoxics.html

EPA Administrator Jackson Orders Review of Key Clean Air Document

EPA today granted a petition for reconsideration of a Bush Administration memo regarding the scope of the Clean Air Act. The interpretive memo, put forward by then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson in December 2008, addresses when the Prevention of Significant Deterioration program applies to carbon dioxide, a chief greenhouse gas.

Concerns were soon raised about the memo’s potential impact on American communities and neighborhoods. The Sierra Club and other parties in early January petitioned EPA to reconsider the Johnson memorandum.

“I am granting this petition because we must learn more about how this memo affects all relevant stakeholders impacted by its provisions,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson “This will be a fair, impartial and open process that will allow the American public and key stakeholders to review this memorandum and to comment on its potential effects on communities across the country. EPA’s fundamental mission is to protect human health and the environment and we intend to do just that.”

EPA will vigorously review the Johnson memo to ensure that it is consistent with the Obama Administration’s climate change strategy and interpretation of the Clean Air Act. While conducting this review, EPA will abide by the three core principles outlined by Administrator Jackson: overwhelming transparency, adherence to the rule of law, and science-based policies and regulations.

To facilitate a transparent, impartial and fair review, EPA will seek comment from the general public on this memo and its potential impact on American communities. This public comment period is consistent with the recommendations of the Environmental Appeals Board and allows for a measured, inclusive approach to reviewing this memo. The EAB last year held that EPA had not adequately articulated why its interpretation of the PSD program did not apply to carbon dioxide.

Today’s action is the latest in a series of steps intended to ensure EPA policies and procedures are consistent with EPA’s overall mission to protect human health and the environment.

The response letter to the Sierra Club: http://www.epa.gov/air/nsr/guidance.html

EPA to Further Consider New Source Review Final Rule

To allow time for further review, a Jan. 15 New Source Review final rule specifically regarding the air permitting program’s “aggregation” policy will not take effect before May 18, 2009.

EPA is staying the effective date for 90 days to reconsider the rule in response to the current Office of Management and Budget memorandum regarding regulatory review, and also in response to a Natural Resources Defense Council petition for reconsideration.

New Source Review is a pre-construction permitting program to ensure air quality is maintained when factories, industrial boilers and power plants are built or modified. The program ensures that state-of-the art emission control technology is installed at new plants or existing plants that are undergoing a major modification. Aggregation refers to the grouping of multiple, related physical or operational changes into a single project for evaluating requirements under the New Source Review program.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/actions.html

EPA - Statement by Administrator-Designate Lisa Jackson

Washington, D.C. – Jan. 23, 2009

Statement by Administrator-designate Lisa P. Jackson:

“I am honored by the confidence and faith President Obama and the Senate have reposed in me to lead the EPA in confronting the environmental challenges currently before us. As Administrator, I will ensure EPA’s efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and overwhelming transparency. By keeping faith with these values and unleashing innovative, forward-thinking approaches – we can further protect neighborhoods and communities throughout the country.”

EPA Proposes Revisions to Air Quality Index for Particle Pollution

EPA is proposing to update its Air Quality Index (AQI) to reflect the latest standards for fine particle pollution. The proposal also would set a “significant harm” level, which states use in developing emergency episode plans. Fine particle pollution is also known as fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5.

Under the proposed changes, the AQI would reach “code orange” – unhealthy for sensitive groups – when particle pollution levels reach 35.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3). The changes also would mean air quality reaches the “unhealthy” category at a lower particle pollution level.

These proposed changes likely would not have a noticeable impact on daily air quality forecasts. States have been voluntarily forecasting code orange when particle pollution reaches 35 ug/m3, the same level as the revised daily health standard. EPA revised this standard in September 2006.

The proposed rule also would set a significant harm level equal to an AQI value of 500. States use these levels in air quality emergency episode plans, which set procedures for delivering information to potentially affected citizens and for reducing emissions from sources in the area that are potentially contributing to harmful PM 2.5 levels. EPA is seeking comment on its proposal for setting the 500 AQI level.

The AQI is EPA’s color-coded tool for communicating air quality to the public. An AQI value of 50, for example, represents good air quality with little potential to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality. AQI reporting is required in cities of 350,000 and larger; however, more than 300 cities voluntarily issue air quality forecasts as a public health service.

EPA will take comment for 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register and will hold a public hearing on March 5, 2009, at the Intercontinental Dallas, 15201 Dallas Parkway, Addison, Texas.

In addition, EPA will host a blog to provide the public additional avenues for discussing this proposal. Comments to the blog will not be considered official comments for the record; however, the blog will provide readers with easy links for submitting official comments. The blog will open the week of March 2, 2009, the same week as the public hearing. EPA will notify the public about how to participate in the blog and how to be notified when the blog is open.

For more information about the AQI proposal: http://www.epa.gov/pm/actions.html

U.S. EPA Launches New Southern California Website

Air and water quality, waste recycling, local site cleanups at your fingertips

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launches a new Web site that will provide up-to-date environmental information to residents of southern California.

By visiting: http://www.epa.gov/region09/socal, viewers will have easy access to information about environmental issues in southern California. The site features EPA’s work on port diesel emissions, area water quality, local site cleanups, waste recycling, border activities, and tribal projects in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties.

The new site uses interactive maps of southern California to provide local residents with critical environmental information about their own communities and neighborhoods, including current air pollution levels, beach conditions and sun exposure risks.

The site will be useful to teachers and students as an educational tool for researching environmental issues in their communities. It also provides resources for organizations and businesses on how to "green" their operations or join one of EPA's voluntary partnership programs.

Flexible Air Permits Enable Increased Pollution Prevention and Economic Competitiveness

EPA is finalizing changes and clarifications to air quality permitting rules to encourage greater use of flexible air permits. EPA’s assessment of flexible air permits demonstrated that they can enable significant environmental and economic benefits, while reducing administrative workload for permitting authorities and facilities.

This final action affects both EPA’s operating permits and New Source Review programs. A facility with a flexible permit would explain its anticipated operational and construction changes for the duration of the permit term. The state, local or tribal air quality permitting authority would include permit conditions to ensure protection of public health and the environment for all of those changes. These flexible permits do not provide approval for changes not within the scope of conditions considered at the time of the permit application. Facilities must still meet their requirements under the Clean Air Act.

For more information: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/actions.html

EPA Finalizes Revisions to the 2005 Hazardous Waste Combustor NESHAP Rule

EPA is amending the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants rule for new and existing hazardous waste combustors. These standards implement the Clean Air Act by requiring hazardous waste combustors to meet emission standards reflecting the application of the maximum achievable control technology. The rule is the final action regarding the eight issues for which EPA granted reconsideration in September 2006. The revisions also address comments received in response to a September 2007 notice.

As a result of this reconsideration process, EPA is:
- Revising the new source particulate matter standards for cement kilns and incinerators that burn hazardous waste to better reflect the performance of the best controlled source over time. The change in the standards resulted from consideration of additional performance data;
- Amending the particulate matter detection system provisions and revisions to the health-based compliance alternative provisions for total chlorine;
- Identifying the emissions standards EPA intends to defend in pending litigation and is responding to public comments on a related Sept. 27, 2007 notice; and
- Making several corrections and clarifications to the rule.

The revised provisions are effective immediately and do not change the Oct. 14, 2008, compliance date established by the October 2005 final rule. The final rule should be published in the Federal Register in about two weeks.

More information is available at: http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/tsd/td/combust/finalmact/index.htm

U.S. Air Quality Standards for Lead Now 10 Times Stronger

EPA dramatically strengthened the nation's air quality standards for lead, improving public health protection, especially for children. The new standards tighten the allowable lead level 10 times to 0.15 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (ug/m3).

"America's air is cleaner than a generation ago," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "With these stronger standards a new generation of Americans are being protected from harmful lead emissions."

This decision marks the first time the lead standards have changed in 30 years. EPA strengthened the standards after a thorough review of the science on lead, advice from the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and consideration of public comments. The previous standards, set in 1978, were 1.5 ug/m3.

EPA's action sets two standards: a primary standard at 0.15 ug/m3 to protect health and a secondary standard at the same level to protect the public welfare, including the environment.

The existing monitoring network for lead is not sufficient to determine whether many areas of the country would meet the revised standards. EPA is redesigning the nation's lead monitoring network, which is necessary for the agency to assess compliance with the new standard.

No later than October 2011, EPA will designate areas that must take additional steps to reduce lead air emissions. States have five years to meet these new standards after designations take effect.

More than 6,000 studies since 1990 have examined the effects of lead on health and the environment. Some studies have linked exposure to low levels of lead with damage to children's development, including IQ loss.

Lead can be inhaled or can be ingested after settling out of the air. Ingestion is the main route of human exposure. Once in the body, lead is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and can affect many organ systems including children's developing nervous systems. Lead emissions have dropped nearly 97 percent nationwide since 1980, largely the result of the agency's phase-out of lead in gasoline. Average levels of lead in the air today are far below the 1978 standards. Lead in the air comes from a variety of sources, including smelters, iron and steel foundries, and general aviation gasoline. More than 1,300 tons of lead are emitted to the air each year, according to EPA's most recent estimates.

Since September 2006, EPA has strengthened air quality standards for lead, ground-level ozone and particulate matter.

For more information about lead in air visit: http://www.epa.gov/air/lead