On February 8, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that U.S. EPA is required to regulate mercury emissions from all coal-fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs). This decision vacates EPA’s Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), a cap and trade system for mercury emissions issued in 2005. The new ruling states that EPA must establish National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for power plants. These limits would be based on maximum achievable control technology (MACT). According to the plaintiffs in the February 8 ruling, this could result in a 90 percent reduction of emissions within three years of the issuance of the NESHAP. CAMR was expected to reduce mercury emissions by about 70 percent over the next 20 years. In 2000, power plants were added to the list of sources to be covered under the NESHAP Program, but they were controversially removed from that list in 2005 with the finalization of CAMR. For more information, see the decision or contact EQ’s Sheri Bussard at (800) 229-7495.
On January 23, 2008, a House subcommittee approved draft legislation that would establish permanent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations for security at chemical plants. The current chemical safety regulations issued by DHS in April and November 2007 will expire in October 2009. The subcommittee accepted an amendment that seeks to ensure that the director of DHS’ Office of Chemical Security is not a political appointee, but a career civil service employee with “demonstrated knowledge” of physical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity, facility security, and hazardous analysis. An amendment that would have mandated background checks for employees against terrorist watch lists and immigration status databases failed. As written, the draft bill will not exempt water and wastewater treatment facilities from DHS oversight. The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies opposes the bill, saying that utility security is already regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) is expected to introduce this bill, called the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008. For more information, contact EQ’s Laurie Buckman at (800) 229-7495.
On February 21, 2008, the U.S. EPA published Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data for the 2006 reporting year. This is the earliest release of the data in the program’s 20-year history, due to improvements in electronic reporting and data processing. Nationwide, chemical releases are down by 2% from 2005. From 2001 to 2006, total TRI releases are down by 24%.
The TRI is an on-line electronic database that tracks the release of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories from about 23,000 industrial and federal facilities across the nation. Information about the 2006 reporting year is available at on the EPA website.
A U.S.-sponsored conference in Hawaii on January 30 and 31, 2008 brought together 16 of the world’s major economic powers, the United Nations, the European Union, and the European Commission to discuss possible mandatory cuts on global greenhouse gas emissions. Although no agreements were made, the U.S. is considering proposals from the European Union, Japan, and Canada to at least halve emissions by 2050 (from 1990 levels). The European Union has already pledged to reduce emissions 20 percent by 2020. This was the second round of the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change; the first was hosted by the U.S. in Washington, D.C. in September 2007. The next meeting is anticipated in France in April 2008. The Major Economies group is expected to provide support for a new post-Kyoto Protocol climate agreement, which is in process.
At the UN Climate Change conference, held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, parties to the Kyoto Protocol (including the U.S. and more than 180 other nations) agreed to complete negotiations by the end of 2009 on a new climate agreement to succeed the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012.
EQ and EnviroCare International (ECI) have received a patent (No. 7279039) from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on a method and equipment for controlling air emissions from cement plants (dry process, precalciner). Raw feed meal used in cement production is heated in a special heating chamber to drive off volatile compounds. The gases flow to the precalciner where they are combusted and rendered harmless. The process allows the use of feedmeal that contains higher levels of organic material. It also reduces the formation of secondary reactions with ammonia and/or organic species, which reduces total hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, dioxins and sulfur trioxide aerosols in the stack gases. For more information, contact EQ’s Ron Hawks at (800) 229-5299.
For your engineering needs, please contact EQ Engineers at 219-844-3500, their website or email Ron Hawks
For international engineering services, contact EQ Engineers Slovakia via their website or email Bob McCullough
For questions about EQ's capabilities, please contact
Bob McCullough or Laurie Buckman, or call (800) 229-7495.
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