EPAWATCH NAAQS revision addresses long-range pollution A federal advisory committee is considering a fundamental shift in the way EPA designates air quality nonattainment areas. The draft proposal is part of the implementation plan under development for new ozone, particulate matter, and regional haze national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) that EPA is scheduled to propose in November (ES&T, July 1996, 281A). If approved, the proposal will replace the current designation system with one that addresses attainment problems raised by pollution transport. It will set UD a two-tier regulatory strategy by renaming pollution control regions as either "areas of violation" (AOV) to describe regions where violations are observed or "areas of influence" (AOD to describe areas that contribute to the violation Under current practice, regions in violation of the ambient air standards are described as nonattainment areas, and controls must be put on pollution sources. Pollution coming from outside a nonattainment area is controlled through other mechanisms within the air act or through regional agreements. The committee has recommended that an area of violation be required to identify the entire area that does not meet federal ambient air quality standards, including the areas that are contributing to the noncompliance. On the basis of sound technical information, the area of influence would identify the sources that contribute to the noncompliance in the area of violation. Areas of influence would also develop a spatially integrated control strategy, taking into account tional, regional, and state controls. The recommendation was included in a draft working paper prepared for a July 30 meeting of the committee, which includes representatives from businesses, state agencies, environmental groups, and EPA. The paper also included cri-
Lawsuit challenges PCB importation rule The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn EPA's March rule that allows the importation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for disposal (Federal Register 1996, 67(53), 11096). The brief, filed in June with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, states that the rule violates a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ban on the manufacture of PCBs. In 1979 Congress outlawed the manufacture of PCBs in the United States and later added language stating that "manufacture" in this case includes importation. In responding to the suit in a July brief, EPA noted that the Sierra Club's "literal" interpretation of TSCA implies that "manufacture" as well as "processing" and "disposal" are prohibited, which would make the agency's requirement to regulate PCB disposal "an academic exercise." EPA argues that the new rule upholds the commitments included in several international agreements, including the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. The Basel Convention allows transboundary shipments of waste when the exporting country lacks suitable disposal sites, according to EPA. Oral arguments in the case are expected later this year.
tiques of each suggestion. While acknowledging the problems created by pollution transport, the paper noted that the two-tier strategy will require a "difficult" analysis that stretches analytical techniques beyond their current ability to determine the source of the pollution in an area of influence. The committee added that the proposed process may be hard to implement politically because controls for ozone and particulate matter might be extended into currently uncontrolled areas of influence.
Chairman questions enforcement performance EPA's "1995 Enforcement Accomplishments Report," released July 23, has raised questions among some critics about the effectiveness of the program. Criminal enforcement actions taken in fiscal year 1995 were up from the previous year's level; EPA referred 256 criminal cases to the Department of Justice, up from 220 referrals in fiscal year 1994. However, civil referrals declined by more than 50% during the same period. Administrative penalties and administrative orders were also down The report includes figures from the first six months of the
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1996 fiscal year. EPA officials maintain that the decrease in enforcement actions reflects the implementation of policy changes, including expanded assistance to smaller businesses and a new practice that encourages voluntary disclosure of violations by rewarding the companies with reduced penalties. EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement Steve Herman also noted that the 1996 figures "show the devastating impact of the government shutdown" last December. Critics say that EPA is not doing enough to enforce the environmental statutes. The results prompted Chairman of the House Commerce Committee Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) to issue a press statement the day the report was released pledging to look into the agency's enforcement program "in the days ahead." But others say it is too soon to say whether the drop in numbers is the result of fewer actions or the l3.fi time that goes into implementing a new strategy. "You can't just look at the numbers to judge enforcement performance," said Adam Babich, an attorney with the Environmental Law Institute. "Things are a bit more complicated than that."
0013-936X/96/0930-426A$12.00/0 © 1996 American Chemical Society
