{
  "id": "RL32273",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32273",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 104287,
      "date": "2004-03-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:24:58.613847",
      "title": "Air Quality: EPA's Proposed Interstate Air Quality Rule",
      "summary": "On December 17, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to\naddress the effect of interstate transport of air pollutants on non-attainment of the National Ambient\nAir Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulates (PM2.5) and ozone (specifically, the 8-hour\nstandard). The proposed Interstate Air Quality (IAQ) rule appeared in the  Federal\nRegister  January\n30, 2004. For PM2.5, the proposed rule finds that the interstate transport of sulfur dioxide (SO2)\nand\nnitrogen oxides (NOx) from 28 states and the District of Columbia contributes significantly to\ndownwind non-attainment; for ozone, the proposed rule finds that interstate transport of NOx from\n25 states and D.C. contributes significantly to downwind non-attainment of the 8-hour standard.\n With the IAQ rule, EPA proposes a region-wide emissions cap for NOx and SO2 to be\nimplemented in two phases -- 2010 and 2015. Based on the methodology employed in the proposed\nrule, EPA estimates reductions of about 70% from baseline emissions in 2015. EPA's methodology\ndetermined the caps by applying \"highly cost effective\" pollution controls on electric generating\nunits.\n EPA has presented the proposed IAQ rule and the accompanying proposed Mercury (Hg) rule\nas a \"suite of integrated air actions\" to reduce emissions of three pollutants -- SO2, NOx, and Hg. \nThe two proposed rules are integrated in such a way that the technologies reducing SO2 and NOx\nemissions under the IAQ rule also reduce enough Hg emissions to meet the modest 2010 reduction\nrequirements of the proposed Hg rule. This combination of requirements and technology allows\nutilities to meet the requirements of both rules without installing three different control technologies\n-- one for each pollutant. As EPA does not provide a cost-benefit analysis of Hg reductions, it is not\npossible to quantitatively determine whether this decision is economically efficient in terms of\npotential Hg benefits foregone by not imposing a more stringent reduction requirement. \n However, from the broader perspective of the interaction of the proposed rules with the\nunderlying Clean Air Act (CAA), there is a resulting lack of integration. It is likely to be argued that\nthe proposed rule simply represents another layer on an already multi-layered cake called the Clean\nAir Act. Adding a regionwide annual cap and trade program onto a regulatory structure whose\nfoundation is health-based national standards that focus on the local concentration of pollutants in\nthe ambient air presents numerous difficulties. As a result, there are multiple inconsistencies between\nthe proposed rule and other provisions of the CAA. These conflicts are not surprising -- there is little\nEPA can do to resolve them out by regulation. If the Administration's goal is to restructure CAA\ncompliance strategies toward market-oriented cap and trade programs without creating more layers\nand conflicts, it is possible a statutory solution will be necessary.\n This report will be updated if events warrant.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy"
  ]
}