big guy. I think if we are all held to the same bar of minimum requirements, that gives the small farmer protection so that someday his county is not going to regulate him out of business," said Roper. Some environmentalists, how-
ever, say that the nonpoint source problem is so large, and has been ignored for so long, that the only solution is to amend the Clean Water Act. "The steps EPA is taking are positive," said Kathy Nemsick of the Clean Water Network,
a coalition of environmental groups. "But the states have had the program for 25 years. We need to strengthen the Clean Water Act to give EPA the authority to enforce the law." —CATHERINE M. COONEY
Midwestern states balk at NOX reductions in EPA's ozone plan The first step toward meeting EPAs updated ozone standard was proposed in October. The proposal, aimed at controlling the regional transport of nitrogen oxide (NOJ, is being closely watched by several midwestern and southeastern state officials who believe their sources have been unfairly targeted for reductions. The proposal sets NO^ emission caps for 22 of the states that participated in the Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG), a two-year assessment of regional ozone problems in the eastern United States that involved 37 states and the District of Columbia. The states were unable to develop plans, due in November 1994, to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone. The northeastern states, in particular, argued that their ozone problems were caused by pollutants from downwind states. Consequently EPA agreed to allow the states added time to develop a regional approach to meeting the standards In its final recommendation, the OTAG participants, with the exception of only a few states, agreed that ozone problems in the northeastern states were caused partially by NO.. emissions traveling from upwind states. The proposal recommends that states target electric utilities for the reductions, which EPA officials believe would be less expensive than controlling automobile emissions or other industrial sources. Overall, states collectively would have to reduce NOx emissions by 1.6 billion tons by 2005. West Virginia would have to reduce its NO.,, emissions by 44%, the largest reduction of all the states. Ohio would have to cut its emissions by 43%, Indiana by 42%, and Michigan by 32%. These states all either in compliance with the old standard for ozone or have
Sorne state environmental offices plan to reevaluate the OTAG data, said David Drake, chief of Michigan's air quality division {ES&T, March h197, 126A-127A).
"Turning off all of the sources in this area is not going to bring the northeastern states into attainment." —Tim Mallin, American Electric Power Co.
"The modeling done by OTAG was probably the most advanced analysis of an environmental issue that has ever occurred," Drake admitted, "but it was done on a large, regional scale. There was not a state-by-state analysis,
and therefore you cannot conclude that Michigan s emissions really contribute to the problem." The OTAG data also do not adequately show that the emission reductions in the midwestern states will help the ozone problem in the northeastern states, maintains Tim Mallin, manager of environmental affairs in the West Virginia office of American Electric Power Co. (AEP), which owns 21 coal-fired power plants. "Our reading of the science and what has come out of OTAG is that the contribution of NOx to the areas of nonattainment is 2-6 parts per billion," Mallin said. "Turning off all of the sources in this area is not going to bring the northeastern states into attainment. There are too 1T13.11V C3XS 3.11(1 tOO IT13I1V SOlirCGS in too
SITlcill 3.11 3JT6H "
EPA modelers argue that because ozone forms from the com-
Cutting NOx, state by state Several southeastern and midwestern states believe EPA's proposed reductions in nitrogen oxides (below) are not supported by regional air quality modeling from the Ozone Transport Assessment Group.
talcpri stpns t o m o v e very closp to
compliance state officials say 5 5 4 A • VOL. 31, NO. 12, 1997 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
mingling of NOx and volatile organic compounds in sunlight, it is inappropriate to model each source's contribution. "If you modeled each source one by one, you could predict that one source is not a problem, because ozone is caused by a collection of sources," said Norm Possiel, leader of EPA's modeling center. The rule is expected to be finalized in mid-1998, but controls will not have to be in place until 2002. The long lead time allows several factors to influence the cost and ability of electric companies to reduce their NOx emissions.
The restructuring of the electric industry, which is slowly taking root at the state level, may result in market forces that encourage utilities to reduce emissions, some utility analysts say. Some consumers, who will eventually be able to choose an electric company will pay more for power if the company meets environmental standards. If the market demands that power companies switch to natural install selective catalytic reduction technology to meet the pro~ posed NO reductions AEP is likely to move forwcircl with con-
New EPA budget boosts particulate matter research, Superfund cleanups Congress has approved a new budget for EPA, providing the agency with $7.36 billion for fiscal year 1998, an increase from the $6.9 billion it received the previous year but slighdy below the $7.6 billion President Clinton had requested. The budget includes $631 million for science and technology programs, $50 million of which is for particulate matter (PM) research, and almost doubles the Superfund account. The agency's science and technology programs received $631 million, and all but $100 million of that will fund the Office of Research and Development, according to an ORD staffer. Although this provides ORD with a boost from the $552 million it received in 1997, Congress exerted more control over EPA's ability to allocate its funds than in years past, several staffers said. The marks for particular projects total $71 million in this budget including $50 million for research fin
PM and $15 million to study the causes mechanisms and underlying health and environmental effects of Pfiesteria In fiscal year 1997 EPA's earmarks totaled $21 million "There is not a whole lot of flexibility [in this budget]," an ORD staffer said. "The amount of direction from Congress has increased when you look at both the dollar value of each earmark and the specific language that protects certain programs," the
staffer said. "I think the number of earmarks is definitely new, compared to budgets we had in the last few years. I see it as an increasing trend over the past 3-4 years." Because of the earmarks, EPA officials will have to move money for ongoing projects to those identified by Congress. Congress almost doubled the amount of research money President Clinton requested for PM studies, setting aside $49.6 million for a peer-reviewed, nearand long-term research program. First, however, the National Academy of Sciences must develop, within a year, a long-term PM research plan for EPA. Congress identified the near-term research needs for PM as toxicological and biological mechanisms, ambient measurements, and epidemiology. Five new university-based research centers that will focus on PIVIrelated environmental and health effects will receive $8 million Congress agreed to Clinton's request to double the funds for Superfund by approving $2.1 billion, but the deal comes with a caveat: $100 million of that won't become available until Sept. 1, 1998, and $650 million won't be available until the start of the 1999 fiscal year—and only if Congress successfully amends the Superfund program by May 1998. House committee chairmen remarked mat the deal might inspire lawmakers to reauthorize Superfund. "This action stokes the fire for reform" said Rep.
trols, said Mallin. Nonetheless, most power companies don't see the NO.,. reductions as an "all or nothing situation," one utility representative said. "It depends on EPA's trading program, which they are holding pretty close to the vest." In March, EPA plans to unveil a model NOx emissions trading plan for the states. The trading model will be for large sources, but states c3.n eventually include smaller sources such as automobiles in their programs EPA officials said. CATHERINE M. COONEY Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), a key player in Superfund reform. The budget includes $35 million for Superfund research projects. The $4 million approved for the independent Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board remained intact. The administration had opposed the board, which was established to investigate chemical accidents. Cuts include almost $7 million from the administration's request of $21 million for global climate research. This leaves the program at $14 million, about the same amount it received the previous year. Congress also cut in half funding requested by the administration to kick off two new programs that expand EPA's right-to-know effort: $2 million was cut from the president's request for the advanced monitoring program, designed to stimulate the development of monitoring systems, and $8 million was cut from the request for a program that would combine state and federal pollution data into one source. ORD's graduate academic fellowships program was cut by $5 million from the president's request of $15 million, leaving the program with a slight increase over the $8 million of fiscal year 1997, ORD staffers said. The environmental technology verification program was left with a $10 million appropriation, equal to what it had received in years past. The verification program is die only operating program under the old Environmental Technology Initiative. —CATHERINE M. COONEY
VOL. 31, NO. 12, 1997 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 5 5 5 A
