EPA has planned to address the billions of tons of greenhouse gas pollution that threaten Americans’ health and welfare, by providing time for large industrial facilities and state governments to put in place cost-effective, advanced technologies to control and reduce carbon pollution.
This marks the first step towards EPA’s phased in approach to addressing GHG emissions laid out by Administrator Lisa Jackson earlier this month.
The action determines that Clean Air Act construction and operating permit requirements for large emitting facilities will begin when the first national rule controlling GHGs takes effect.
If finalized as proposed, the rule limiting GHG emissions for cars and light trucks would trigger these requirements in January 2011 – the earliest model year 2012 vehicles meeting the standards can be sold in the US. The agency expects to issue final vehicle GHG standards shortly.
EPA will make a decision later this spring on the amount of GHGs facilities can emit before having to include limits for these emissions in their permits.
The action aslo marks the final step in EPA’s reconsideration of the December 18, 2008 memorandum entitled ‘EPA’s Interpretation of Regulations that Determine Pollutants Covered by Federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permit Program’. The final action clarifies when GHGs and other pollutants are covered under Clean Air Act permitting programs.
Mr Jackson, said: ”This is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean Air Act. It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments the time to prepare to cut greenhouse gases and it ensures that we don’t push this problem off to our children and grandchildren.”
