Upcoming/Ongoing USEPA NAAQS Regulatory Initiatives
The USEPA has underway an unprecedented amount of regulatory activity under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Much of this activity is being driven by litigation by States and environmental groups to enforce deadlines and other requirements in the CAA. For example, in the last several years, EPA has substantially tightened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5, lead, ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Although EPA had proposed even more stringent standards for ozone, it announced in September 2011 that it would withdraw the proposal and reconsider the ozone standard in 2013. On August 1, 2011, EPA proposed to retain the secondary (welfare-based) standards for NO2 and SO2 and on August 31 published a final decision to retain the current NAAQS NAAQS for carbon monoxide (CO). However, EPA has announced it may propose more stringent particulate matter standards in 2012. Each of these NAAQS changes sets off a chain of regulatory actions, including nonattainment designations (see attached for PM2.5 and lead), new source review (NSR) guidance, and State Implementation Plan (SIP) guidance and deadlines. The result is increasingly stringent and ever-changing controls and requirements on States and the regulated community.
Updated on October 26, 2011
