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Sylva-based Canary Coalition acts to block loosening of state’s emission control standards
The Sylva-based Canary Coalition recently approached members of the North Carolina General Assembly with proposed legislation to prohibit state agencies from lowering emission control standards for industries that pollute the air.
The clean-air watchdog group is reacting to an announcement by the N.C. Division of Air Quality that it is recommending the state revise its New Source Review regulations in conjunction with lowered federal standards.
The state’s Environmental Management Commission voted to accept the DAQ’s recommendation and adopt the revisions, but before being implemented the rule change will have to pass the Environmental Review Commission of the state legislature.
“It’s unconscionable that the DAQ would issue this recommendation,” said Avram Friedman, executive director of the Canary Coalition. “We’re taking this to the state legislature because someone has to step in to protect the people of North Carolina.”
New Source Review is a process outlined in the federal Clean Air Act that ensures the upgrade of emission control systems in older polluting power plants, factories and refineries when they renovate, modernize or expand production.
The EPA issued one set of revised NSR rules, pertaining to “Prevention of Significant Deterioration,” in December of 2002. A second set of revisions, known as “Routine Maintenance, Replacement and Repair” was issued in October 2003.
Both revisions were vehemently opposed by environmental groups who charged the EPA with weakening the Clean Air Act and enabling older polluting industries to maintain inadequate emission control systems indefinitely into the future.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against the EPA for both NSR revisions, charging irreparable harm to hundreds of thousands of people and abuse of power by the EPA in unconstitutionally reversing the intent of Congress.
Both lawsuits are still pending and the federal Court of Appeals has issued a stay to prevent EPA from implementing the routine maintenance rule change until the court case is resolved.
It is the responsibility of state air quality enforcement agencies to administer the new rules in each state. In North Carolina that responsibility falls to the DAQ. States are permitted to maintain stronger environmental standards than the federal government, but not weaker.
The DAQ held hearings last summer to help determine how the state should respond to the new, lower federal deterioration prevention standards. Industrial interests strongly pressured DAQ to adapt the weaker revisions.
The environmental community strongly opposed any changes to the existing rules, citing the immense health, economic and environmental costs of air pollution to the citizens, government and business community. Last week the DAQ issued its recommendation that the state adopt the new federal deterioration prevention revisions in a modified form, but still significantly weaker than the existing regulations.
There is precedent for states who choose to retain the higher standards of the original NSR provisions and to disregard the EPA’s revisions. In September 2003, the California legislature passed, and the governor signed a bill that prohibits state agencies from implementing NSR rules less stringent than those that existed prior to Dec. 30, 2002.
“The Canary Coalition thinks the General Assembly should take this example one step further by prohibiting state agencies from weakening any emission control regulations,” said Freidman. “The cause for clean air has many proponents in the General Assembly and we anticipate that our proposal will be taken seriously and result in strong action against the DAQ’s inappropriate recommendation.”
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