EPA TIGHTENS STANDARDS FOR FINE PARTICULATE MATTER POLLUTION

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
12/21/12

Moving to comply with a federal court order, the Environmental Protection Agency tightened air quality standards for fine particulate matter pollution (PM 2.5) late last week from 15 to 12 micrograms per cubic meter. PM 2.5, fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are emitted from power plant smokestacks, diesel trucks and buses and help form soot. The particles can penetrate a person’s lungs, causing adverse health effects like asthma, stroke and premature death, according to EPA. In a conference call with reporters Dec. 14, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the rulemaking would cost industry $53 million to $350 million annually to comply but would lead to $4 billion to more than $9 billion in yearly public health benefits. “After thorough analysis, science has proven that strengthening the annual PM 2.5 standard, in concert with retaining the current daily standard, will better support public health and reduce the impact these illnesses have on Americans” Jackson said.

Seven Counties to be in Non-Attainment in 2020

The agency said that 66 of the country’s 3,033 counties are currently in violation of the 12 microgram standard and projected that by the end of the decade, 99 percent of counties will meet the limit without any additional actions. During the press call, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy estimated that by 2020, only seven counties in southern California will be in non-attainment. “The rest can rely on air quality improvements from federal rules already on the books to meet this new standard,” EPA said in a fact sheet. If a county is considered to be in non-attainment, it becomes harder for new industrial and manufacturing facilities to get operating permits.

Political opponents called the rule “unnecessary” and the latest example of EPA’s regulatory overreach. The American Petroleum Institute’s Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Howard Feldman said the final standards will increase costs on businesses. “EPA’s new rule is unnecessary and could drive up costs for new and expanding businesses trying to hire employees. There is no compelling scientific evidence for the policy decision to develop more stringent standards,” he said in a statement. “The existing standards are working and will continue improving air quality.”

But environmental and public groups cheered the final standard. “The Sierra Club applauds the Environmental Protection Agency for finalizing these crucial, life-saving protections. These updated limits will prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths every year and continue the Clean Air Act’s track record of cleaning up our nation’s air, avoiding pollution-related health costs, and protecting our children and families,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement.

Court Said EPA Didn’t Properly Review the Standard in ‘06

Under the Clean Air Act, the agency is required to review the standards every five years and consider revising them based on the latest scientific evidence. The current level of 15 micrograms was set in 1997. After reviewing the standard in 2006, EPA chose not to update the PM 2.5 requirements.  Environmental and public health groups subsequently sued EPA in federal court, and in 2009 the body ruled that the agency did not adequately explain why the 15 microgram standard was adequate. EPA promised to retool the standard as part of its five-year review period under the Clean Air Act. However, the agency failed to meet its deadline in Oct. 2011, and the American Lung Association and nearly a dozen states sued for lack of action, prompting the court to set a deadline for the agency to finalize a new standard last week. EPA in June proposed an annual health standard of between 12 and 13 micrograms per cubic meter.