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EPA Extends the Deadline for Action on North Carolina’s Petition to Reduce Upwind Air Emissions
Release Date: 05/19/2004
Contact Information:
Contact: John Millett: 202 564-7842 millett.john@epa.gov
(05/19/04) EPA is extending by six months the deadline for final action on a clean air petition from North Carolina filed under section 126 of the Clean Air Act. The petition requests that EPA make a finding that emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from large electric generating units in 13 states are contributing significantly to fine particulate matter and/or 8-hour ozone nonattainment and maintenance problems in North Carolina. The affected states are: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. EPA will use the additional time to gather public input on the section 126 petition, which has significant implications for North Carolina, as well as citizens and the regulated community in upwind states. EPA will take this information into consideration and evaluate North Carolina’s petition very carefully.
In January, EPA proposed the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) which, when final, will result in significant reductions of interstate transported pollution throughout the eastern United States. North Carolina’s section 126 petition is seeking reductions from the same types of sources and pollutants as proposed in EPA’s CAIR.
North Carolina’s petition relies, in part, on EPA’s findings and analyses supporting the CAIR proposal. EPA received the petition on March 19. Under section 126, EPA must take action to grant or deny the petition within 60 days of receipt. A separate provision of the Clean Air Act, however, allows EPA to extend the deadline for action by up to 6 months if EPA determines that additional time is needed for the rule-making process. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/airlinks/airlinks1.html .
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