NEWS
GOVERNMENT Illinois to establish VOC emissions-trading market Illinois has become the first state to initiate an emissions trading program for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). If the state legislature approves, trading could begin by 1999. Rather than waiting to develop a rating system for a compound's impact on ozone formation, Illinois announced in April a program that essentially treats all ozone-forming chemicals equally. Illinois also has moved ahead of EPA, which is developing guidance on VOC emissions trading. The Illinois program sets a ceiling for total regional VOC emissions that decreases annually until the region is in attainment for ozone. Companies collect credits for extra reductions of emissions, which can be sold to other companies to help them meet standards or be banked for a year. The ceiling will continue to be lowered until 2007, when EPA requires the Chicago area to be in attainment. "We like the idea, in concept," said Ron Burke, of the American Lung Association's Chicago office. Though ALA has some reservations that they are discussing with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Burke said the agency views the program as a way to achieve significant reductions in point source VOC pollution. ALA's concerns include distinguishing between toxic and
Chicago area volatile organic carbon emissions sources
A small number of VOC emissions sources (>10 tons) account for about 90% of all Illinois'VOC releases. These are the targeted sources of the state's emissions-trading program.
nontoxic VOCs and whether trading will be regional. Illinois would use a trading system dubbed "cap and trade" by EPA, which sets an allowable emissions limit for each source based on its emissions history, says Megan Beardsley, an Air and Radiation Division environmental scientist at EPA Region 5. EPA endorses open trading, which uses existing regulatory standards, rather than dividing a region's cap among sources as a baseline for earning credits. EPA plans to issue guidance for open-market trading as a strategy states can add to their state implementation plans without lengthy revisions, says Rosanne Lindsay, an environmental scientist in Region 5's Air Division. Like Illinois, the EPA guidance will not try to rate VOCs by their impact in forming ozone but will distinguish between toxic and
nontoxic VOCs, Beardsley says. EPA hopes to have the guidance ready for Administrator Carol Browner's signature in June. Illinois' program takes a seasonal approach to emissions reduction trading; the market will be open from May 1 to September 30 each year. This coincides with historical cases of violations in the Chicago region airshed, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Starting in 1996, sources emitting 10 tons or more per season would file emission reports and could elect to participate in the program. Sources of >50 tons per apply by the following year. Sources of
