Supreme Court Hears Duke Energy Case
Nov. 1 - The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today on an important case involving upgrades to power plants and the EPA's application of the New Source Review (NSR) program. The case is Environmental Defense et al. v. Duke Energy Corp. et al. (Docket No. 05-848). See Link...
Gov. Easley Appoints Task Force to Review Chemical Accident
Oct. 19 - Gov. Easley has appointed a task force to make recommendations in the aftermath of the chemical fire at a hazardous waste facility in Apex. The task force, which must report its findings by December 15th, will address several issues including the question of why a licensed hazardous waste facility was unable to provide more timely information to emergency responders during the first several days of the accident. Gov. Easley has praised the efforts of both state and local officials in handling the chemical fire and public evacuation at the EQ facility in Apex. His initial comments about the response to the accident are discussed in an article posted on the Government Technology website on Oct. 9, 2006. See Article...
Safety Board Making Progress on Investigation of Chemical Fire
Oct. 18 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has wrapped up the first phase of its investigation into the recent chemical fire and public evacuation in Apex. See latest CSB news release... The CSB, which is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents, deployed a team to North Carolina in the aftermath of the accident. The agency's board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. See initial CSB News Release...
EPA Lowers Daily Standard for Fine Particles to 35 ug/m3
Sept. 22 - The EPA has lowered the daily standard for fine particulate matter from 65 micrograms per cubic meter to 35 micrograms per cubic meter, while the annual standard for fine particulate and the daily standard for PM10 remain unchanged. (See EPA Link...) The proposed changes first appeared in the federal register on January 17, 2006 (See FR for Jan. 17, 2006.), and the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for the transition to new or revised standards was published on February 9, 2006.
EPA Proposes Changes to New Source Review
Sept. 14 - The EPA has published in the Federal Register proposed changes to three specific areas of the New Source Review (NSR) permit program. The three areas proposed for revision are debottlenecking, aggregation, and project netting. The changes incorporate the 2002 EPA recommendations on how to clarify the NSR program. See EPA Link...
Increased Scrutiny of Ammonia Emissions from Agriculture
Sept. 12 - Dr. Viney Aneja of North Carolina State University is working with Dean William Schlesinger of Duke's Nicolas School to increase the awareness of air emissions from agriculture. Of particular concern are the emissions of ammonia, which serves as a precursor to the formation of harmful fine particulate matter in the air. In June, North Carolina State University co-hosted the first-ever national conference on agricultural air quality. The concerns about emissions from agriculture are discussed in an article, by Kelly Helder with NC State, posted on the NCSU website on Sept. 12, 2006. See NCSU Website Article...
Utilities Commission Hears Duke Energy Proposal for New Coal Plants
Sept. 12 - Duke Energy is presenting its arguments for building new coal-fired power plants to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. This is discussed in an article, by Emery P. Dalesio with the Associated Press, posted on the Charlotte Observer website on Sept. 12, 2006. See Article...
Fine Particle Pollution Getting More Attention
Aug. 09 - As Forsyth County sees improvements in dealing with ozone pollution, more emphasis is being placed on reducing particulate air pollution. The effort to shift more attention to soot or fine particulate in the air is discussed in an article by Jim Sparks in the Winston-Salem Journal on August 9, 2006. See Article...
NRC Recommends Methods for Analyzing NSR
July 26 - The National Research Council (NRC) has issued a report with recommendations for improving the way that the EPA analyzes revisions to the New Source Review (NSR) program. The NRC study of issues related to New Source Review focused primarily on the electricity-generating sector, especially coal-fired power plants, because that sector is responsible for a significant portion of the emissions of SO2 and NOx. The report recommends improvements related to both the collection of data and the use of models for future EPA studies. More ...
Judge Says NC Lawsuit Against TVA May Proceed
July 22 - The Associated Press reports that a federal judge in Asheville threw out a motion to dismiss North Carolina's lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority for continuing to pollute North Carolina's air. Attorney General Roy Cooper sued the TVA in January to force action to reduce the SO2, NOx, mercury, and particulate emissions from the TVA's coal-fired power plants. U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg released a scheduling order setting a trial date for around Oct. 1, 2007.
Water-Tube Boilers Versus Fire-Tube Boilers
July 22 - Due to the Boiler MACT, one of the most frequently asked questions of the past month is the difference between water-tube and fire-tube boilers. A clear and simple explanation is found in Chapter 2 of the Boiler Operator's Exam Preparation Guide. In short, a fire-tube boiler works well if relatively low pressure (< 150 psi) and capacity (< 25,000 lbs/hr) are required. However, a water-tube boiler is the better choice for higher pressure and capacity requirements.
AQ Committee Holds July Meeting
July 13 - The Air Quality Committee met in the Archdale Building Ground Floor Hearing Room on Wednesday, July 12th. The meeting agenda included a request to proceed to public hearing on the rule amendments to extend the RACT rules for VOC and NOx to all the counties in the Charlotte non-attainment area for ozone and the hearing officer's report on hearings for the proposed rule for BART - Best Available Retrofit Technology. More on Meeting...
North Carolina has New CAIR Rule
July 10 - The DAQ has posted on its website the new Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) for implementing the requirements of the federal CAIR Rule. The purpose of the rule is to reduce the interstate transportation of fine particulate matter and ozone by establishing SO2 and NOx requirements for power plants and electric generating units firing fossil fuels. More...
Final Public Hearing Held on Proposed Mercury Rule
June 9 - The third and final public hearing on North Carolina's proposed clean air mercury rule was held on June 8th at Pitt Community College, in Winterville, NC. The first two public hearings were held recently in Charlotte and Raleigh. Many of the speakers at the hearings have asked for stringent restrictions on air emissions of mercury from the state's coal-fired power plants. (See text of article by Corey G. Johnson in the Daily Reflector and article by Bruce Henderson in the Charlotte Observer.)
The Clean Smokestacks Act (CSA) requires utilities to meet company-wide "caps" on nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Mercury emissions are captured as a co-benefit of installing the CSA controls. (See map of Duke Energy and Progress Energy coal-fired power plants in North Carolina.) The utility boilers that will not be controlled under CSA are referred to as "non-CSA boilers". The Air Quality Committee of the EMC had invited comments on several specific issues related to the proposed mercury rule, including the requirements for non-CSA boilers. (See the DAQ's list of coal-fired plants and the calculated mercury allowances.)
Key Date Arrives for Brick Mfg. MACT
The MACT compliance date for existing brick manufacturing sources was May 16, 2006. In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR Part 63, the brick manufacturing MACT facilities are required to address the "last MACT toxics demonstration" under the North Carolina air toxics regulations. More...
EPA proposes revisions to New Source Review (NSR) - 09/14/06.
EPA proposes amendments to the NSPS/NESHAP for municipal solid waste landfills - 09/08/06.
EPA rule adds PM2.5 de minimis emissions levels for general conformity applicability - 07/17/06.
EPA promulgates amendments to the Misc. Organic NESHAP (MON) - 07/14/06.
Final rule NSPS Subpart KKKK for stationary combustion turbines - 07/06/06.
EPA public meeting on Science Advisory Board website - 06/21/06.
EPA proposes NESHAP for stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines - 06/12/06.
EPA proposes NSPS for stationary spark ignition internal combustion engines - 06/12/06.
EPA announces June 27th workshop on setting NAAQS - 06/12/06.
Final rule on reconsideration of revision to Dec. 2000 CAA section 112(n) finding - 06/09/06.
Court Blocks EPA's ERP Rule for New Source Review
March 17 - The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has vacated the EPA's equipment replacement provision (ERP) that amended the routine maintenance, repair and replacement (RMRR) requirements under the New Source Review (NSR) program. The rule, developed in partnership with the energy industry, allows old power plants and other industries to avoid upgrading air pollution controls when the upgrades to plant equipment is less than 20 percent of the replacement cost.
The opinion from the three-judge panel made clear that the rule, promulgated in 2003, went too far and did not follow the language of the Clean Air Act. The EPA rule had been challenged by a coalition of states and environmental groups. The federal government has 45 days to decide if it wants to seek a review of the court ruling. Interestingly, although the appeals court decision was announced on March 17, 2006, to date there is still no mention of it on the EPA's website.
