By Brett Rosenberg
April 25, 2005

EPA officials were on hand at the MWMA Legislative and Regulatory meeting to tie together some of the agency's new clean air regulations and place them in a framework applicable to municipal public works operations. Bill Wehrum, general counsel in the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, presented an overview of two new regulations: the Clean Air Interstate Rule, known as CAIR, and the Clean Air Mercury Rule. Lori Stewart and Steve Albrink of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality outlined the National Clean Diesel Campaign, which, over the next several years, promises to have a pronounced effect on air quality through reducing particulate emissions and other emissions from the nation's 11 million diesel engines, including those in city fleet vehicle like garbage trucks and buses.

Wehrum briefly explained some of the intricacies of CAIR, which "is the biggest thing [EPA] has done since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments" to improve air quality. Once fully implemented, CAIR will regulate sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, largely from coal-fired power plants in the eastern United States. The regulation, which the EPA says will use a market-based cap and trade system to reduce the precursors of acid rain and ground level ozone by 70 percent, seeks to alleviate air pollution through reducing the potential for regional non-attainment with air pollution standards because of upwind emissions.

The EPA delayed release of the CAIR regulation during early 2005 while the Senate debated the merits of the Bush Administration's Clear Skies Initiative. Although similar to CAIR, Clear Skies has not yet received sufficient support to move out of committee. Wehrum noted that the Bush administration recognizes that there is an air quality problem that needs a solution and that Congress should step up to address the problem. "In the mean time," Wehrum said, "we're going forward with the regulation," noting the preference for legislation over regulatory action.

The new Clean Air Mercury Rule, which compels power plants to reduce mercury emissions from about 48 tons nationwide today to 15 tons by 2018, seeks to reduce the harmful effect of consuming mercury-contaminated fish. However, according to Wehrum, while the new mercury rules will eliminate part of the problem, much of the contamination in the U.S. comes from international sources, such as China.

The nationwide mercury rule, like the Clean Air Interstate Rule, encourages states to implement a market-based cap and trade system to reduce emissions.

Once both rules are phased in, according to Wehrum, the overall benefits of reducing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury will assist cities and states in meeting their air quality attainment obligations.

The EPA's National Clean Diesel Campaign, as described by Stewart and Albrink will also help cities and states achieve better air quality. Stewart and Albrink spoke largely about EPA programs geared toward reducing the sulfur content in diesel fuel for on and off-road engines and retrofitting diesel engines to make them far less polluting. Emissions from diesel engines are linked to serious public health problems such as asthma and other harmful respiratory conditions, and contribute fine particles that form visibility'restricting haze. Diesel emissions are also linked to ground-level ozone formation, acid rain and global climate change.

By 2006, ultra low sulfur fuel will be available nationwide; however, it will take longer for the "legacy fleet," that is, the existing fleet of over 11 million diesel vehicles nationwide, to adapt to the new fuels. Stewart and Albrink described several programs available to help cities retrofit fleet vehicles to the new low sulfur fuels, and addressed alternative fuels, such and compressed natural gas and biodiesel, that have shown much promise in alleviating emissions problems. The speakers said that many of these programs have broad stakeholder support because they have proven cost effective; are available throughout the country; have helped communities achieve particulate matter and ozone attainment goals, and have often received state and federal funding.

For additional information, visit the National Clean Diesel Campaign Website at www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.