Posted on December 30, 2010 by Karen Aldridge Crawford
On December 30, 2010, just days before the first Greenhouse Gas (GHG) regulations are to become effective, EPA issued another final rule to clarify and narrow the applicability of those regulations. 75 FR 82254 (12/30/10).
After reviewing the “60-day letters” received by EPA from most of the states, the agency realized its initial strategy for regulating GHG emissions was flawed in those states that had approved Title V permitting programs Those state programs were based on Clean Air Act and federal regulatory provisions in 40 CFR Parts 52 and/or 70 that established the threshold for major source determinations as 100 tons per year (tpy) for certain air pollutants subject to regulation, rather than the 100,000 tpy threshold on a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) which EPA determined should apply to GHG emissions (the Tailoring Rule).
While some state laws and regulations were worded broadly enough to be consistent with the initial Tailoring Rule, many states would be required to modify their program to only regulate GHG emissions at the higher Tailoring Rule threshold upon the January 2. 2011 effective date of the new rule. Otherwise, those states’ programs would require regulation of GHG emissions at the original threshold of 100 tpy, which would inundate the states with many more permit applications than EPA’s regulations actually intended.
The provisions in both Part 52 and Part 70 applicable to the affected state programs are revised to read, “… EPA approves such provisions only to the extent they require permits for such sources where the source emits or has the potential to emit at least 100,000 tpy CO2e, as well as 100 tpy on a mass basis, as of July 1, 2011.” EPA has stated this language means that GHGs are regulated at 100,000 tpy and all other pollutants subject to regulation are regulated at the 100 tpy mass-based threshold.
It will be interesting to watch whether the courts’ interpret this additional “clarifying” language to be clear and legal.
Tags: Air