IN THIS ISSUE |
EPA Rejects 10 Endangerment Challenge Petitions EPA Wants Polluter Pays Tax Reinstated
JAY SAYS |
| EPA Rejects 10 Endangerment Challenge Petitions |
| July 31, 2010 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 29 denied 10 petitions challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real, is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, and threatens human health and the environment. The petitions to reconsider EPA’s Endangerment Finding claim that climate science cannot be trusted and assert a conspiracy that invalidates the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. After months of serious consideration of the petitions and of the state of climate change science, EPA finds no evidence to support these claims. In contrast, EPA’s review shows that climate science is credible, compelling, and growing stronger. “The endangerment finding is based on years of science from the U.S. and around the world. These petitions -- based as they are on selectively edited, out-of-context data and a manufactured controversy -- provide no evidence to undermine our determination. Excess greenhouse gases are a threat to our health and welfare,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Defenders of the status quo will try to slow our efforts to get America running on clean energy. A better solution would be to join the vast majority of the American people who want to see more green jobs, more clean energy innovation and an end to the oil addiction that pollutes our planet and jeopardizes our national security.” The basic assertions by the petitioners and EPA responses follow: Claim: Petitioners say that emails disclosed from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit provide evidence of a conspiracy to manipulate global temperature data.
Response: EPA reviewed every e-mail and found this was simply a candid discussion of scientists working through issues that arise in compiling and presenting large complex data sets. Four other independent reviews came to similar conclusions. Claim: Petitioners say that errors in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report call the entire body of work into question.
Response: Of the alleged errors, EPA confirmed only two in a 3,000 page report. The first pertains to the rate of Himalayan glacier melt and second to the percentage of the Netherlands below sea level. IPCC issued correction statements for both of these errors. The errors have no bearing on Jackson’s decision. None of the errors undermines the basic facts that the climate is changing in ways that threaten our health and welfare. Claim: Petitioners say that because certain studies were not included in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the IPCC itself is biased and cannot be trusted as a source of reliable information.
Response: These claims are incorrect. In fact, the studies in question were included in the IPCC report, which provided a comprehensive and balanced discussion of climate science. Claim: Petitioners say that new scientific studies refute evidence supporting the Endangerment Finding.
Response: Petitioners misinterpreted the results of these studies. Contrary to their claims, many of the papers they submit as evidence are consistent with EPA’s Finding. Other studies submitted by the petitioners were based on unsound methodologies. Detailed discussion of these issues may be found in Volume 1 of the response to petition documents, on EPA’s Website. Climate change is already happening, and human activity is a contributor. The global warming trend over the past 100 years is confirmed by three separate records of surface temperature, all of which are confirmed by satellite data. Beyond this, evidence of climate change is seen in melting ice in the Arctic, melting glaciers around the world, increasing ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, shifting precipitation patterns, and changing ecosystems and wildlife habitats. “America’s Climate Choices,” a report from the National Academy of Sciences and the most recent assessment of the full body of scientific literature on climate change, along with the recently released “State of the Climate” report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration both fully support the conclusion that climate change is real and poses significant risk to human and natural systems. The consistency among these and previously issued assessments only serves to strengthen EPA’s conclusion. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) noted that EPA’s endangerment determination provides the basis for clean car standards adopted in April of this year. The new clean car standards were broadly supported by states, America’s automakers, the United Auto Workers union and environmentalists. The clean car standards will reduce oil consumption by 1.8 billion barrels, cut climate-disruptive gases by 960 million tons, and save consumers an estimated $3,000 at the gas pump over the life of their car. Also, EDF said the petitions seeking reconsideration of EPA’s science-based finding were filed by coal companies, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the State of Texas, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and other interests. Copyright 2010, 1105 Media Inc. http://www.eponline.com/Home.aspx |
EPA Wants Polluter Pays Tax Reinstated
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On June 21, 2010, the EPA sent a letter to Congress in support of reinstating the lapsed Superfund taxes that were commonly called the "polluter pays" rules. Superfund is the federal government's program that investigates and cleans up the nation's most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. According to the agency, the Superfund provision would provide a stable, dedicated source of revenue for the program and increase the pace of Superfund cleanup. It would also ensure that parties who benefit from the manufacture or sale of substances that commonly cause environmental problems at hazardous waste sites, and not taxpayers, help bear the cost of cleanup when responsible parties cannot be identified.
In December, the agency identified three industry sectors it would focus on for the payment principle: chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal products manufacturing.
"Since the beginning of this administration, we have made it clear that we support the reinstatement of the polluter pays system for the Superfund program," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Our taxes should be paying for teachers, police officers and infrastructure that is essential for sustainable growth – not footing the bill for polluters. Today, we are formalizing our call to Congress to pass this important legislation and ensure responsible steps to keep our communities clean. In the meantime, EPA is taking action to better manage the Superfund program to increase cleanups and enhance transparency, accountability, and community input in agency decision-making."
The Superfund taxes expired on Dec. 31, 1995. Since the expiration of the taxes, Superfund program funding has largely been financed from General Revenue transfers to the Superfund Trust Fund, thus burdening the taxpayer with the costs of cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites. The administration is proposing to reinstate the taxes as they were last in effect on crude oil, imported petroleum products, hazardous chemicals, and imported substances that use hazardous chemicals as a feedstock, and on corporate modified alternative minimum taxable income. Under the administration's proposal, the excise taxes and corporate environmental taxes would be reinstated for a period of 10 years beginning in January 2011.
More information on the Superfund program is available at www.epa.gov/superfund. http://www.pollutionengineering.com/Articles/Industry_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000847363 |
EPA Pushes Ahead on GHG Standards
by Roy Bigham
Posted: December 23, 2010 The EPA issued its plan for establishing greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution standards under the Clean Air Act in 2011. The agency looked at a number of sectors and is moving forward on GHG standards for fossil fuel power plants and petroleum refineries – two of the largest industrial sources, representing nearly 40 percent of the GHG pollution in the United States. The schedule issued in the Dec. 23, 2010 agreements provides a clear path forward for these sectors and is part of EPA’s common-sense approach to addressing GHGs from the largest industrial pollution sources.
"We are following through on our commitment to proceed in a measured and careful way to reduce GHG pollution that threatens the health and welfare of Americans, and contributes to climate change," said Administrator Lisa Jackson. "These standards will help American companies attract private investment to the clean energy upgrades that make our companies more competitive and create good jobs here at home."
Several states, local governments and environmental organizations sued the EPA over the agency’s failure to update the pollution standards for fossil fuel power plants and petroleum refineries, two of the largest source categories of GHG pollution in the United States. Under today’s agreement, the EPA will propose standards for power plants in July 2011 and for refineries in December 2011 and will issue final standards in May 2012 and November 2012, respectively.
This schedule will allow the agency to host listening sessions with the business community, states and other stakeholders in early 2011, well before the rulemaking process begins, as well as to solicit additional feedback during the routine notice and comment period. Together this feedback will lead to smart, cost-effective and protective standards that reflect the latest and best information.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set industry-specific standards for new sources that emit significant quantities of harmful pollutants. These standards, called New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), set the level of pollution new facilities may emit and address air pollution from existing facilities. The Act allows flexible and innovative approaches that take into account cost, health and environmental impacts, and energy requirements. The agency also must periodically update these standards to reflect improvements in control technologies.
Earlier this year, the EPA issued a common-sense approach to GHG permitting for the largest industrial sources. This approach, the GHG permitting guidelines issued in November, and these standards will give power plants and refineries a clear and sensible path for addressing GHG pollution.
The EPA will accept public comment on these two agreements for 30 days following publication of notice in the Federal Register. www.pollutionengineering.com JAY SAYS |
Dear Reader, The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a program that included 10 Northeast States that have agreed to curtail and reverse growth in the CO² emissions. The RGGI program includes all electricity generating units with a capacity of at least 25 mega-watts and requires an allowance for each ton of CO² emitted. The first year of mandatory compliance was in 2009. Each participating State was provided a CO² budget consisting of a history-based baseline with a cushion for emissions growth, so that meeting the cap is expected to be relatively easy initially and become more stringent in subsequent years. The requirements are expected to cover 95 percent of CO² emissions from the region's electric power sector. Overall, the RGGI States as a whole must maintain covered emissions at a level of 188 million tons CO² for the next 4 years, after which a mandatory 2.5 percent annual decrease in CO² emissions through 2018 is expected to reduce the total for covered CO² emissions in the RGGI States to 10 percent below the initial calculated budget. Although each State was given its own emissions budget, allowances are auctioned at a uniform price across the entire region. Since the first auction in September 2008, there have been five subsequent RGGI auctions. At the most recent, in December 2009, 28.6 million allowances were and sold at a clearing price of $2.05. EIA estimated generation for the Mid-region and capped emissions from those Pennsylvania's emission were not restricted, because Pennsylvania is an observing and is not participating in the cap-and-trade program or subject to any mandatory emission. Best regards,
Jay Klaus
JKlaus@KlausEquipment.com
Klaus Equipment Company
President reference: US Energy Information Administration |
Klaus Equipment Company
Phone: 724-444-3420
Fax: 724-444-3425
2866 West Bardonner Road,
Gibsonia, PA 15044
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