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PR EPA PROPOSES EMISSIONS TRADING PROGRAM TO HELP PROTECT EASTERN U.S. FROM SMOG
Release Date: 04/29/98
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1998
EPA PROPOSES EMISSIONS TRADING PROGRAM TO
HELP PROTECT EASTERN U.S. FROM SMOG
HELP PROTECT EASTERN U.S. FROM SMOG
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed an emissions trading program that will help protect public health from air pollution in the eastern United States. The program is part of a regional strategy for cost-effectively meeting EPA's new public-health standard for ozone, or smog, by reducing by 35 percent the nitrogen oxide pollution from "upwind" states that contributes to smog in the eastern half of the United States. The program -- called “cap and trade” -- allows industries great flexibility in choosing pollution controls because they can buy and sell market-based “credits” to reduce their nitrogen oxide emissions.
"The Clinton Administration is committed to protecting public health and the environment through common sense, cost-effective, affordable programs," said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. "The emissions trading program we are proposing today provides great flexibility for how industrial sources can reduce air pollution both in their communities and in 'downwind' states. It is part of a regional strategy that will enable eastern states to meet EPA's new health standards for smog in most areas with no need for additional controls."
In November, EPA proposed that 22 states and Washington, D.C., reduce emissions of air pollution that blow across state boundaries. This proposal was based on the recommendation of 37 states, known as the Ozone Transport Assessment Group, or OTAG, that identified power plants as the most significant source of nitrogen oxide emissions -- a key component in the formation of smog. The 37 states in OTAG, acting under Section 110 of the Clean Air Act, also identified those states that contribute to transboundary air pollution problems, and the level of reductions necessary to meet the health standard.
The emissions trading program proposed would allow each state to establish a cap on nitrogen oxide emissions and provides flexibility for power plants and other sources that reduce these emissions in greater amounts than required to sell credits to facilities that cannot reduce emissions as quickly or as cost-effectively. A similar market-based program has proven successful in allowing power plants to trade credits to meet and exceed standards for reducing sulfur dioxide to control acid rain.
When EPA takes final action to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions this fall, this regional strategy will bring the vast majority of the areas in the 22 states and Washington, D.C., into attainment with EPA's new standards for smog without additional controls. The “cap and trade” program would help achieve these reductions in the most cost-effective way.
Smog, the most pervasive air pollutant in the United States, aggravates asthma, reduces lung capacity and makes plants and crops more susceptible to pests and disease. Besides decreasing smog, cutting nitrogen oxide emissions also will help reduce problems with acid rain, contaminated water bodies, airborne particles, regional haze and global warming.
The 22 states that could participate in the emissions trading program, along with, Washington D.C., are Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
Today's supplemental proposal will appear soon in the Federal Register but can be read immediately on the internet under "Recent Actions" at website: https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/ramain.html. Following the Federal Register notice, there will be a 45-day comment period, including a public hearing on May 29. The location of the hearing will be published in the Federal Register. For further technical information, contact Kimber Scavo of EPA's Air Program at 919-541-3354 or e-mail at: scavo.kimber@epa.gov.
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