US EPA set to propose another industry-backed air pollution rule

Washington (Platts)--6Sep2006

The Bush administration has moved closer to issuing another
industry-backed revision to the federal New Source Review program, which
requires electric utilities, oil refineries and other power sector facilities
to install new pollution controls when undertaking certain modifications.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said Wednesday that it
has finished reviewing an NSR proposal that it received from the Environmental
Protection Agency nearly five months ago.

Completing the OMB review process is typically one of the last hurdles
that executive branch agencies like EPA must clear before proposing and
finalizing new regulations.

EPA said it would propose the new NSR rule by the end of September, and
that it would finalize the measure in May 2007.

The measure has two main provisions. The first is "aggregation," which
concerns multiple modifications undertaken in a short period of time. The
second is "debottlenecking," which concerns how NSR applies to modifications
to specific parts of power sector facilities that also affect other components
and systems.

Only a brief description of the proposed rule was available immediately
Wednesday. It said the rule would change the way "emissions from permitted
emissions units upstream or downstream from those undergoing [modifications]
are considered when determining if a proposed project will result in a
significant emissions increase."

The rule is intended to "improve implementation of the program by
articulating principles for determining major NSR applicability that were
previously addressed through guidance only," the description added.

The power sector has long supported the aggregation and debottlenecking
provisions. Environmental groups, conversely, say the provisions would weaken
the NSR program and endanger public health by allowing the power sector to
increase its emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants.

--Brian Hansen, brian_hansen@platts.com

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