Government▼Watch NOx regulations under way after 24-year delay (PSD) that aims to reduce the deterioration of air quality in parts of the country where the air is cleaner than the national ambient air quality standards. The act specified that limits for NOx were to have been set by 1979. PHOTODISC
The U.S. EPA has finally agreed to craft new regulations to tighten controls on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in parks and other areas where the air quality is cleaner than national standards. The agreement to issue regulations was reached November 12 to settle a lawsuit brought by Environmental Defense (ED), an advocacy organization. Comments on the proposed settlement agreement are due January 7 (Fed. Regist. 2003, 68, 68,374–68,376). Nitrogen oxides are precursors to ground-level ozone, which causes respiratory diseases such as asthma and has increased in 20 out of 33 national parks over the last decade, according to the National Park Service. EPA spokespersons say they are not sure what will be in the final proposal. A few things are certain, however. The new regulations will target electric power plants and possibly vehicles, and will set numerical limits for NOx concentrations in ambient air. The limits will comply with a section of the Clean Air Act known as “prevent significant deterioration”
Agreement urges the agency to address seasonal emissions spikes.
It’s likely that state agencies will issue power plant permits that include NOx emission rates to meet the new air quality limit. States could also meet the new limits by curbing vehicle emissions through tools such as transportation management and vehicle inspection programs. EPA didn’t act until 1988, promulgating PSD regulations only for nitro-
gen dioxide and setting limits based on annual average concentration, thereby ignoring seasonal spikes, says Jennifer Kefer, an attorney with Earthjustice who represented ED. In 1990, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed with ED attorneys, writing that EPA’s regulations weren’t stringent enough. The new settlement commits EPA to comply with the 1990 court order, which means the agency must propose regulations by September 30, 2004, and finalize them by September 30, 2005. The court order included several stipulations, Kefer says. EPA will have to address the problems of seasonal spikes and limits for all forms of NOx, Kefer says. EPA officials must also decide whether the baseline for the numerical limits will be the more degraded ambient air quality in 2003 or the cleaner air in 1990, or even 1979, she says. Another open question is whether the rules might establish a rigorous emissions cap on sources. These PSD regulations were delayed because of competing priorities, an EPA spokesperson says. The new rules should lead to large cuts in NOx emissions nationwide. —JANET PELLEY
EU lends China a hand on green research and technology Top environmental officials from the European Union (EU) and China launched a dialogue designed to strengthen their collaboration on environmental issues. Under the agreement, representatives from both countries will meet regularly to discuss issues such as air quality, climate change, water pollution, and waste management. EU officials plan to share information on research and technology related to energy efficiency and renewable energies, such as solar and wind power. They also plan to provide guidance on how to set standards, particularly vehicle emission standards. According to the European Commission (EC), a key objective of the agreement, reached in November, is to encourage cooperation in developing and implementing multilateral environmental agreements, particularly the United Nations Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Both the EU and China have ratified the protocol.
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How China, with its 1.3 billion people and growing economy, handles its development and tackles its environmental problems will have major global significance. Responsible for about 13.5% of global emissions, China is already the second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world after the United States, and its emissions are increasing. China is also the world’s second-largest consumer of energy after the United States, and it is the largest consumer of coal. Its energy use is set to increase sixfold by 2050. EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström has invited State Environmental Protection Administration Director Xie Zhenhua to visit Brussels in the summer of 2004 to take stock of progress. The EU is already informally collaborating with China on environmental issues. For example, the EU has invested $55 million in a project in the heavily industrialized province of Liaoning to encourage officials to use cleaner technologies and implement waste minimization programs. —MARIA BURKE
© 2004 American Chemical Society
