Georgia

CAIR Reduces Georgia’s Emissions

• By 2015, CAIR will help Georgia sources reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO_x) by 292,000 tons or 54 percent.

• By 2015, CAIR will help Georgia sources reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) by 38,000 tons or 37 percent.

CAIR Helps Georgia and its Neighbors

• Because air emissions travel across state boundaries, reducing the emissions from sources in Georgia also will reduce fine particle pollution and ground-level ozone pollution in other areas of the country.

• Currently, Georgia sources significantly contribute to fine particle pollution in other states including:
      Ohio, North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky & Tennessee

• Georgia’s fine particle air quality will improve because of reductions of SO_x and NO_x in:
      Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee & West Virginia

• Georgia’s ground-level ozone air quality will improve because of reductions of NO_x in:
      Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee & West Virginia

CAIR Makes Georgia’s Air Cleaner

• CAIR helps Georgia meet and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution.

• SO_x and NO_x contribute to the formation of fine particles (PM), and NO_x contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone.

• Areas meeting the NAAQS are in attainment. Those areas not meeting the standards are known as “nonattainment areas.”

    Fine Particle Pollution

• 27 Georgia counties were designated nonattainment for EPA’s health-based standards for fine particle pollution.

• CAIR will help bring four of those counties into attainment for fine particles by 2015 including:
      1. Catoosa County Chattanooga, TN–GA Area
      2. Walker County Chattanooga, TN–GA Area
      3. Bibb County Macon, GA Area
      4. Monroe County (P) Macon, GA Area

• CAIR will further reduce particle pollution in all of these counties:
      1. Barrow County Atlanta, GA Area
      2. Bartow County Atlanta, GA Area
      3. Carroll County Atlanta, GA Area
      4. Cherokee County Atlanta, GA Area
      5. Clayton County Atlanta, GA Area
      6. Cobb County Atlanta, GA Area
      7. Coweta County Atlanta, GA Area
      8. DeKalb County Atlanta, GA Area
      9. Douglas County Atlanta, GA Area
      10. Fayette County Atlanta, GA Area
      11. Forsyth County Atlanta, GA Area
      12. Fulton County Atlanta, GA Area
      13. Gwinnett County Atlanta, GA Area
      14. Hall County Atlanta, GA Area
      15. Heard County (P) Atlanta, GA Area
      16. Henry County Atlanta, GA Area
      17. Newton County Atlanta, GA Area
      18. Paulding County Atlanta, GA Area
      19. Putnam County (P) Atlanta, GA Area
      20. Rockdale County Atlanta, GA Area
      21. Spalding County Atlanta, GA Area
      22. Walton County Atlanta, GA Area
      23. Floyd County Atlanta, GA Area

    Ground-level Ozone

• At the end of 2004, 24 Georgia counties were designated nonattainment for EPA’s health-based standards for ground-level ozone pollution.

• Existing Clean Air Act programs will bring 4 of these counties into attainment by 2010:
      1. Catoosa County Chattanooga TN-GA Area
      2. Bibb County Macon, GA Area
      3. Monroe (P) County Macon, GA Area
      4. Murray (P) County Murray Co. Chattahoochee Natl Forrest Mtns, GA Area

• Existing Clean Air Act programs will bring the remaining 20 counties into attainment by 2015:
      1. Barrow County Atlanta, GA Area
      2. Bartow County Atlanta, GA Area
      3. Carroll County Atlanta, GA Area
      4. Cherokee County Atlanta, GA Area
      5. Clayton County Atlanta, GA Area
      6. Cobb County Atlanta, GA Area
      7. Coweta County Atlanta, GA Area
      8. DeKalb County Atlanta, GA Area
      9. Douglas County Atlanta, GA Area
      10. Fayette County Atlanta, GA Area
      11. Forsyth County Atlanta, GA Area
      12. Fulton County Atlanta, GA Area
      13. Gwinnett County Atlanta, GA Area
      14. Hall County Atlanta, GA Area
      15. Henry County Atlanta, GA Area
      16. Newton County Atlanta, GA Area
      17. Paulding County Atlanta, GA Area
      18. Rockdale County Atlanta, GA Area
      19. Spalding County Atlanta, GA Area
      20. Walton County Atlanta, GA Area

CAIR is Smart for Georgia’s Economy

• CAIR helps maintain coal as a viable fuel/energy source.

• Regional electricity prices are not significantly impacted by CAIR, and are projected to be below 2000 levels.

Notes:
1) Partial counties are identified by (P) following the county name.
2) Projections concerning future levels of air pollution in specific geographic locations were estimated using the best scientific models available. They are estimations, however, and should be characterized as such in any description. Actual results may vary significantly if any of the factors that influence air quality differ from the assumed values used in the projections shown here.
3) Small emission increases can occur in a state under CAIR where shifts in power generation occur, but overall improvements occur throughout the CAIR region. The Final CAIR includes a compliance supplement pool of NO_x allowances (roughly 200,000 allowances) for the annual program, which could lead to slightly higher annual NO_x emissions than are stated here.
4) The data presented here is based on recently completed, revised Integrated Planning Modeling (IPM), reflecting CAIR as finalized. This recent data may differ slightly from modeling results in the Final CAIR Federal Register Notice and Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) which were based on modeling that was completed before EPA had determined the final scope of CAIR. The primary difference in the earlier modeling included AR, DE, and NJ in the annual SO_x/NO_x requirements, and did not include an ozone season cap on any states.
5) Emissions reductions take into account state and federal pollution control programs in place when EPA last updated its models in mid-2004. Reductions from more recent state programs or settlement actions are not reflected in these tables.
6) Retail electricity prices are by North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) region.