Quote:
EPA Plan Could Let Plants Skirt Limits
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Apr 3, 6:28 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is considering ways to allow many industrial facilities that emit at least one of 188 hazardous air pollutants to avoid having to comply with the most stringent technology controls to limit pollution.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, released the draft proposal on Monday, two days before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meets to consider President Bush's nominee, Bill Wehrum, to serve as head of EPA's air office.
NRDC noted in a statement that the proposal was drafted during Wehrum's current tenure as acting head of that office. John Walke, NRDC's clean air director, said the timing was not politically motivated.
The agency's current 1995 policy requires facilities that annually emit 10 tons or more of a single air pollutant or 25 tons or more of a group of pollutants to use the maximum achievable technology controls to lower their pollution, sometimes by up to 95 percent.
A draft proposal would let oil refineries, hazardous waste incinerators, chemical plants and dozens of other types of facilities that drop below those annual thresholds to reclassify themselves as minor sources of pollution under the Clean Air Act's air toxics program.
By doing so, businesses could potentially pollute at levels just below the thresholds — rather than be subject to the more stringent requirements for major sources. The proposal applies to air pollutants such as benzene, cyanide, asbestos, lead, mercury and chlorine.
Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, called the proposal "good news for protection of health and the environment."
Slaughter said major sources of hazardous air pollutants would have to reduce actual emissions to take advantage of the change in policy.
"Without the proposal, powerful disincentives would exist to make these reductions," he said. "In the past, even state and local air regulators have called upon EPA to fix this problem."
NRDC also released a leaked EPA internal memo from December in which regional EPA officials criticized the proposal.
Michael Bandrowski, air toxics chief for EPA's Pacific Southwest office, wrote that industrial facilities could "backslide" from having to use the stricter technology controls and increase their pollution to just below federal thresholds.
Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., a senior member of that committee, promised to explore the draft rule at Wehrum's hearing. "Once again, it appears that the EPA is looking for ways to make the Clean Air Act more friendly for polluters at the expense of public health," he said.
EPA officials said the draft leaked by NRDC was prepared last November. EPA spokeswoman Lisa Lybbert said commenting on it at this early stage in the process "is like asking us how a cake tastes when we haven't even put the batter in the oven."
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/air/toxicair/index.html
NRDC: http://www.nrdc.org
What the hell let them pollute just enough to do us some harm but not enough to kill us. Sounds kinda like a Homer Simpson plan to me.
^^^ You're getting the point now.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
wow...another brilliant f*@$#ing idea
The EPA for YEARS has let big companies off the hook and could care less! Look at it this way if a company has 10 tons of toxic waste to dispose of and it will cost them 50 million dollars to dispose of it properly BUT the EPA will only fine them one thousand dollars per ton of illegally dumped waste which way do you think a company will go?
50 million VS. 10 thousand ? Its just good business seance to break the EPA's law's and dump it and pay the fine.
If the EPA actually gave a fat rats ass about the environment then they would asses fines based on the cost to dispose of properly. You let a company get nailed with a fine of something like ten times the cost to properly dispose of it and I gaurentee it would stop tomorrow! Cause then it would be 50million VS. 500 million ! Now THAT would bring this polluting non-seance to a screaming halt! BUT our wonderful elected representatives get nice fat pay offs by these companies to make sure the EPA remains the toothless load of crap it is now. Find a politician who cares about the environment and you've found someone who hasn't been bribed enough yet.
But the EPA can come after the horrible auto industry and attack individuals who have classic cars are destroying the planet! All the classic cars in the world can't begin to equal what these companies are getting away with.
EPA = Environmental Patsy Agency
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
EPA: Exclusively Personal Agendas.
If the Gov't was even close to serious about protecting the environment from polluters, it'd give the EPA the teeth to not just fine, but instill penalties through the IRS, and even give the power to freeze assets, halt trading of stock, collect and retain all interest payments and stock dividends after the original problem is being fixed. Make the EPA a zero cost, cost-recovery operation, pass the savings on to the people.
I'm not an environmental nazi like some are, but I'd rather see a real effort put forward to make the big polluters accountable, and make them clean up their act.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
Many industrial facilities are operating under grandfather clauses and don't have to follow the new standards. Any modifications to the pollution control equipment (even improvement) will result in the facility no longer being grandfathered and having to follow the new limits.
Some plants could improve the equipment and lower their pollution by half, but half isn't lower than the new limits, so the plants choose not to do the modifications and continue to output the same amount of pollution. If the EPA would allow manufacturers to progress toward better pollution controls without the abrupt step changes that they require, more would proceed with these improvements to the pollution controls instead of putting them off.
I have always thought that people and companies respond better to incentives than penalties.
Fine the polluters and give the money to manufacturers that make a real effort to clean themselves up.
Yes, absolutely the grandfatehring agreements need to be revisited. There should be a period limit on the agreement and a schedule of improvements. That way they can work out an affordable way to bring themselves up to standard.
PAX
Hahahaha: What incentives are there for cleaning up? All the entailled work, equipment, downtime and lost production is already pretty close to 100% tax deductible.
Most of these companies aren't just grand-fathered in, they've got sweetheart deals.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
can someone tell me this....i dunno if the DEP is still in existence but if it is...what is the difference between the DEP and the EPA?
Supercharged 95 BMW 540i M-Sport
Never heard of the DEP what are they? Gam looks like we're in complete agree on this
and no I'm not a tree hugging Nazi either but I can't stand these places getting away with murder. Literally in some cases! The EPA is there so politicians can feel warm and fuzzy and get votes. No one cares about the environment at all.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
Soon enough, the environment won't care for us either...
PAX
Hahahaha wrote:Soon enough, the environment won't care for us either...
PAX
I think Mother Earth is already sick of us considering Katrina, Rita and the wild storms raging across the midwest these days. One of the meteorologists from the Weather Channel said this years Tornado season could be 3 times as bad as last years.
Population control brought to you by mom nature.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
The sad thing is I predicted an early start to Tornado season (usually May) just about 2 weeks ago. Not all that long before 23 people lost their lives to the opening round. That really sucks and the season has yet to get rolling. That is a high death toll for one night.
Remember Oklahoma in May of 99? That was downright nasty too.
PAX
Honestly, i'm waiting for a good rip on the New Madrid Fault zone...last good 8-sized earthquake there rang curchbvells in Boston.
And i'm pretty sure there's a ancient fault or two under Washington that, if set off, could crush the Whitehouse like an empty beer can.
Unfortunattely, Yellowstone Caldera is not set to go off anytime soon. Too bad, though, It would make Indonesia, Prince William Sound, and Mt. Pinatubo look docile in comparison.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
... And yet were still not allowed to put an aftermarket intake on our cars in California.
