In a 5-4 decision issued April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case that will have far reaching effects in the ongoing debate among the Administration, Congress, and EPA regarding global warming and control of greenhouse gases. The Court ruled that car and truck emissions are subject to the Clean Air Act (CAA), setting the stage for more aggressive regulation of tailpipe emissions, a major source of the primary greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). The Court found that the CAA requires EPA to adopt emission standards for any air pollutant from any type of motor vehicle that could endanger public health or welfare, including “weather” and “climate” as described in the ruling. The Court essentially ruled that CO2 is an air pollutant which EPA has the authority to regulate. Global warming policy makers and advocates of greenhouse gas control will use this decision as a watershed to further their call for a national response that could ultimately lead to increased regulatory pressure on utilities and industry.
In a separate decision on April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against an important defense argument made in the EPA New Source Review (NSR) enforcement case against Duke Energy. The Court upheld EPA’s position that emission changes measured on an annual basis are to be used when determining whether a plant change triggers a review as a major modification (under Prevention of Significant Deterioration or Nonattainment NSR). Duke Energy argued and had received agreement from lower Courts that the emission change test, and thus the applicability of major NSR, should be based on hourly emissions resulting from maximum source operations before and after the change. For more information, contact Kent Berry at (800) 229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On March 13, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled, in Sierra Club v. EPA, that the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards set by EPA restricting emissions from brick and ceramic kilns violated the Clean Air Act. The Court vacated the standards in their entirety and sent them back to EPA to be rewritten. The court relied on its prior rulings in Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition v. EPA, 255 F.3d 855 (D.C. Cir. 2001) and National Lime Ass’n v. EPA, 233 F.3d 625 (D.C. Cir. 2000) to hold that the emissions “floors” EPA established in May 2003 for brick and ceramic kilns violated Section 112 of the Clean Air Act in several respects. The ruling is expected to have a broad impact on the Boiler MACT and Portland Cement MACT standards set by EPA using the same or similar methodologies. For more information, contact Tom Robertson at (800) 229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On March 12, 2007, the U.S. EPA published the Methods Update Rule (MUR) in the Federal Register. The new rule lists extensive revisions to approved methods for water analysis, including methods used to meet testing needs for both the Clean Water Act and the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. Among the 109 methods being withdrawn from the approved list are many methods used by industry to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements. In most cases, these methods are being replaced by equivalent methods published in Standard Methods, or by updated EPA methods. One example is Oil and Grease by EPA method 413.1, which uses Freon-113 as the extraction solvent. This technique is no longer approved, and the recommended alternative is EPA method 1664A for Hexane Extractable Material. Several testing techniques have been withdrawn without the addition of a similar reference as replacement, but many laboratories offer alternate test methods to determine those parameters. Environmental managers should review their existing permits and programs to verify they are compliant with the new requirements. For more information, contact Tom Robertson at (800) 229-5299 or Jackie Doan at (800) 229-7495.
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