Evaluation showed increases in ozone-forming nitrogen oxides (NOJ of 5% nationally and 9% in the Northeast if all states increased their speed limits on primary roads and interstates from 55 to 65 miles per hour (mph). Annual C0 2 emissions would increase by 6-15 million metric tons as a result of the change. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requested in a Dec. 7 letter that the agency direct states that increased their speed limits to modify their SIPs, an EPA-approved document detailing how the state will meet air quality goals. The SIPs are based on pollutant emissions assumptions under federal speed limits, said NRDC's Deborah Shprentz. These assumptions would no longer be valid if states increased speed limits, she said. EPA, however, will let states determine whether they should revise their SIPs after increasing their speed limit, said Margo Oge, director of the Office of Mobile Sources, in replying to NRDC. Even if a state is likely to exceed allowable levels by increasing speed limits, EPA will not require a SIP change until the state is out of compliance, said Mark Wolcott of the Office of Mobile Sources.
Proposal steers EPA away from continuous monitoring A forthcoming proposed rule that would require facilities to document compliance efforts will measure pollution controls rather than actual emissions, an EPA official said. The Compliance Assurance Monitoring rule will require industries to provide EPA with data measuring their compliance efforts, but in most cases facilities will not have to measure the pollutants they emit, said Peter Westlin of the Office of Air and Radiation. Only those industries that already are required by other rules to conduct continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) must provide the data generated by CEM to prove complihe said The rule will instead require industry to either monitor the operation of pollution control equipment or document that their facilities are operating within established industrial best practices Westlin said "Best practices are not going to be as accurate" as CEM, said Michael Wax of the Institute of Clean Air Companies, which represents air pollution control service and equipment companies. He questioned
EPA's ability to "set air policy if you don't know what is coming out into the air." However, Westlin said, EPA is more concerned with minimizing noncompliance than with assuring continuous compliance. The rule replaces the enhanced monitoring rule, which was withdrawn in April 1995, Westlin said, because regulated industry claimed the requirements for all major facilities with air pollution control technology to monitor continuously for criteria pollutants were too stringent and administratively burdensome. The enhanced monitoring rule would have cost industry "billions of dollars," he said; early estimates for the Compliance Assurance Monitoring rule are between $100 million and $200 million
Goals document sets expected results As a means of explaining to the public what EPA hopes to accomplish in environmental protection, the agency is developing a set of national environmental goals. The goals document will define environmental results sought, such as reducing volatile organic carbons from automobiles and reducing the rate of wetlands loss, and set a time frame for achieving them. The goals program represents a new focus on outcomes for EPA. "Most of the debate on environmental policy has been 'how far down can we crank these standards' and 'what can this technology achieve,' " according to Frederick Allen of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation (OPPE). EPA now is looking to regulate with an understanding of the purpose of the regulations, he said. The document is a 10-year strategic plan outlining the results EPA believes are achievable in specific areas such as clean air, clean water, and ecosystem health, Allen said. It will be a record of environmental progress, listing 12 broad goals and establishing four to six milestones for each. Most milestones are set for 2005. OPPE began developing the national goals concept during the Bush administration, according to OPPE's Peter Truitt. A November 1993 memorandum from Administrator Carol Browner formalized the effort. Currently, the document is being reviewed for comment by state, tribal, and local governments as well as other federal agencies.
"Research Watch" Contributors ES&T's monthly Research Watch department highlights important and interesting research papers in the current literature. This department contains brief summaries from a wide range of journals. ES&T is looking to expand this department to include contributions from specialists in the fields of: Air quality/indoor air Ecosystems Human health Risk analysis Contributors should possess current knowledge of relevant scientific and technical fields, the ability to pinpoint significant research results, and the writing skill to concisely interpret that significance to an audience of nonspecialists. If you are interested in contributing to Research Watch on a contractual basis by submitting 3 items each month, send a CV and a list of those scientific and technical publications you read regularly to: ES&T Managing Editor 1155 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Fax: (202) 872-4403
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
VOL. 30, NO. 5, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 1 8 9 A
