EPA rule proposal: stationary pollution controls

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed rule that would allow power plants to modify existing facilities without having to install more modern pollution controls if their hourly emission rates don’t increase. This changes the EPA definition of emissions increase to “an increase in maximum achievable emissions measured on an hourly basis, as opposed to being measured over the course of an entire year,” according to a U.S. Law Week article last week.

The article notes that the 4th. Circuit Court of Appeals held on June 15th. that “an emissions increase occurs only when a modification increases a plant’s maximum potential hourly emissions rate.” (U.S. v. Duke Energy, 411 F3d. 539), but a week later, on June 24th., the District of Columbia Circuit Court ruled in favor of the current annual emissions test. (New York v. EPA, 413 F3d. 3). These are addressed in the proposed rule, which is seeking a remedy to uncertainties between the two cases and the associated regulations.

Comments on the proposed rule are due by December 19th.