The Bush administration proposed some changes to the
Clean Air Act last year that essentially relaxed some of the standards on
earlier rules dealing with air pollution. Several states downwind of the larger
industrial sources of air pollution, in conjunction with various environmental
groups, immediately sued to overturn the new rule changes. Their contention is
that the new rules undermined efforts to protect public health. They also
contend that the new rules did not get adequate public airing.
At issue are six items:
· An EPA analysis that the new rules will lead to less air pollution than the previous standards.
· Whether or not facilities that modernize should have to keep records and file specific reports about their pollution levels.
· How companies calculate their emissions, which may reduce the likelihood that they would have to install new pollution controls.
· How emission increases are measured when smokestacks, generators and boilers are replaced.
· Allowing plants that have installed state-of-the-art pollution controls not to install more effective equipment for 10 years, even if they expand or change operations in a way that results in greater air pollution.
·
Allowing plants with numerous pollution sources to increase
pollution from some sources as long as overall, plant wide air emissions are not
increased.
The EPA will reconsider these issues and accept public comment for 30 days, but said, in the meantime, it will keep the new rules intact. The EPA will hold a public hearing on these issues on August 14th at Research Triangle Park, NC.
President George W. Bush picked Utah Governor Mike
Leavitt as the candidate to head the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. He
will be replacing Christie Whitman, who resigned in June.
Gov. Leavitt believes that the individual states, not the
federal government, should have the power to regulate the environment and should
preside over all environmental issues. Leavitt and former Oregon Governor John
Kitzhaber developed a set of environmental guidelines that showed ways to
protect the environment without government regulation.
Political insiders believe that he could face a difficult senate confirmation hearing because he has a mixed record on environmental issues. Gov. Leavitt supports the Clear Skies initiative, a Bush administration plan to reduce air pollution from power plants, but has liberal policies on land use. He supports construction of a highway in Utah that may damage wetlands in the state and would like to open more of the states’ land for mining and drilling for oil. Environmentalists say he has a poor record of wilderness protection in his home state.
Back
to EEI's Home Page