Senators May Yet Oppose EPA's Boiler Rule Fixes

Date: January 4, 2012

Source: News Room

The EPA has promulgated its proposals to soften its recently issued boiler and incinerator rules but it remains unclear whether the changes will be sufficient to assuage the concerns of key senators that were opposed to the rules as originally proposed last March.

The revised rules were published in the Federal Register on Dec. 23 and include national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for major source boilers, new source performance standards for commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators (CISWI) and a non-hazardous secondary materials (NHSM) rule to determine whether facilities are subject to the boiler or stricter CISWI rules based on the material burned in the unit. Industry, states, environmentalists and others are locked in litigation over the original rules, with industry arguing they are unachievable and based on faulty data. EPA stalled implementation of the rules and launched a rare self-initiated reconsideration in order to address several provisions criticized by industry. EPA officials say the revised rules provide greater flexibility for industry at a lower cost than the previously finalized versions.

However, it is not known whether these changes will be sufficient to address concerns voiced by GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe (ME) and Susan Collins (ME) and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (OR). Collins and Wyden, among others, are also co-sponsors of S. 1392, a bill which would overhaul the air rules. Wyden in a Dec. 13 letter to EPA Administrator Jackson says he remains concerned about the current three-year compliance timeframe for boilers to comply with the rules, saying, "I appreciate your commitment to reexamine this issue and identify how additional time can be made available in cases where it is needed." He also in the letter calls on EPA to expand its reporting provisions so that smaller area-source boilers are required to report if they burn biomass or other unconventional fuels.

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