Browsing by Subject "Clean Air Act"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Environmental and Economic Implications of Regional Bioenergy Policy
    (2015-03-15) Galik, Christopher; Abt, Robert; Latta, Gregory; Vegh, Tibor
    The unique generation, landownership, and resource attributes of the southeastern United States make the region a ripe and important test bed for implementation of novel renewable energy policy. This policy brief describes the environmental and economic implications of one policy intervention: a hypothetical region-wide renewable portfolio standard (RPS) with separate biomass targets or “carve-outs.” A study of this intervention shows that over time the dominant contributor to such an RPS would be forest biomass and that existing resource conditions would influence patterns of biomass harvesting, resulting in a spatially and temporally diverse forest carbon response. Net forest carbon storage in the Southeast would be greater with the hypothetical RPS than without it in all but the final years of the modeled time period, but when displaced fossil fuel emissions are accounted for net greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions over the period could be substantial. The methods and findings presented here are also relevant to a broader array of policies that could increase biomass demand from the region, including pellet exports from the United States to the European Union and regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    POLICY OPTIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO CREATE A MARKET-BASED SYSTEM TO REGULATE GREENHOUSE GASES UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT
    (2012-04-26) Zoller, Lilly
    Although the United States Congress has not enacted legislation to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority under the existing Clean Air Act (CAA) to promulgate regulations on GHGs. This authority stems from the US Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v EPA (2007) and the EPA’s endangerment finding for GHGs in 2009. EPA’s regulations of GHGs could take the form of either traditional technology-based/design standards, or they could be in the form of cost-effective market-based economic incentives. This paper evaluates the feasibility of creating a market-based system, in the form of cap and trade, either under sections 108-110, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or section 111, New Source Performance Standards, of the Clean Air Act. This paper compares the desirability of these two options for a market-based system to regulated GHGs based on the criteria of: legal authority, economic efficiency and environmental effectiveness. While the EPA has the legal authority to create a market-based system for GHGs under either part of the CAA, this comparison supports NSPS as being more preferable than NAAQS. This is because: the EPA has already committed to regulating GHGS under NSPS; NSPS clearly allows market-based incentives; NSPS offers greater flexibility and associated cost-effectiveness; and NSPS avoids the contentious task of setting an ambient standard for GHGs that could prove either unattainable or superfluous.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Revisiting the NAAQS Program for Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act
    (2017-01-05) Reichert, Christina; Litz, Franz; Monast, Jonas; Profeta, Timothy; Adair, Sarah
    The future is uncertain for the regulation of greenhouse gases from power plants, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, which covers existing plants. The rule is under review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court has indicated its interest in hearing the case. Moreover, during his presidential campaign, president-elect Donald Trump promised to “scrap” the Clean Power Plan. If the rule is overturned or is severely weakened, whether through litigation or executive action, stakeholders are likely to litigate to seek to force the EPA to use other authorities under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This working paper examines the opportunities and challenges associated with regulation of greenhouse gases under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program, drawing a comparison with the Clean Power Plan’s approach under a different section of the Clean Air Act. The paper offers no opinion on the Clean Power Plan litigation, nor does it advocate for the Clean Power Plan or the NAAQS approach. Its focus is on understanding how the NAAQS program might incorporate greenhouse gases in in the event that the EPA pursues that approach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Taking a Fresh Look at Clean Air Act Standards: The Role of Retrospective Review in Achieving Health and Climate Benefits
    (2023-04-28) Crowley, Kate
    Many sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to retrospectively, and often periodically, review and potentially revise its standards. The paper examines the implementation of the retrospective “residual risk” review provision of CAA 112 to suggest improvements to EPA’s implementation of retrospective review for air toxics standards. By streamlining the review process for low-risk source categories and increasing stakeholder involvement, EPA can meet its statutory requirements while achieving greater risk reductions with fewer resources. The analysis of CAA 112 retrospective review can also inform EPA’s efforts to utilize CAA 111 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Efficient periodic review of CAA 111 standards would allow traditional command-and-control regulations to effectively address climate change in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    United States Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Research Program Accomplishments Report
    (2009-04-24T13:28:14Z) Hagan, Nicole
    Millions of dollars are spent annually on research to advance the scientific basis for setting air quality standards and implementing programs to protect public health and the environment. It is necessary for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to document and evaluate their accomplishments in order to communicate the value of their research to the public and government leaders. This report is intended to highlight the major research accomplishments of EPA’s Clean Air Research Program since 2002. Among the most notable achievements are near roadway studies, understanding emissions from wild and prescribed fires, advancing characterization of emissions, improving source apportionment and characterization, and control of secondary PM2.5 from coal combustion. Significant progress has also been made in understanding secondary organic aerosol formation, development of a new secondary organic aerosol model, updating emissions inventories, and improving measurement and modeling techniques. Additionally, health research has investigated target doses of pollutants to various human lung sites, identified risk factors for susceptible subpopulations, uncovered biological mechanisms for cardiopulmonary effects, identified new target tissues from air pollution exposure, and explored co-pollutants and other mediating factors. Research generated by ORD directly affects the National Ambient Air Quality standards setting process through health and environmental research, supports the evaluation of environmental conditions with monitoring and modeling research, provides information to states for regulation and management via technical products and support, and allows EPA to track progress. This report, in addition to summarizing the major research accomplishments of ORD, evaluates the research accomplishments against the framework for air quality management, detailing which efforts directly support the framework and how future research will support the framework. With the support of research generated by the Clean Air Research Program, EPA can continue to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of air pollution.