Despite protests, EPA moving forward with new measures
HARRISBURG – Despite strong protests from state lawmakers and industry groups, the state’s environmental protection agency is moving forward with final regulatory approval on two controversial measures to curb automobile pollutants and mercury emissions from power plants. Environmentalists say the new regulations would be among their most important victories in recent years. And if the regulations get final clearance, they expect Pennsylvania could start tipping the scales nationwide in favor of environmental issues.
“We’re getting a lot of attention nationally for both of these proposals,” said Nathan Willcox, a spokesman for PennEnvironment. “Pennsylvania has a large population. Politically other states look to Pennsylvania as a bellwether state on environmental issues. It’s not like Massachusetts or California passing something because environmental regulations come about much more slowly in Pennsylvania.”
The proposed regulations would buck the federal government’s standards in favor of stricter state emissions controls. On mercury, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has designed a state plan that’s supposed to achieve faster and more substantial reductions in levels of the developmental neurotoxin than the federal plan.
It also wouldn’t allow the federal plan’s market-based trade of mercury emissions credits out of concern that Pennsylvania, with its sizable power industry, would be a net importer of those credits bringing about areas of concentrated mercury “hot spots.”
On auto emissions, the DEP is seeking a two-year extension to implementing California’s smog-reduction standards. But many see the move as the DEP’s affirmation in favor of California over the federal government’s higher allowable levels, a move the DEP believes will allow it to better conform to Clear Air Act requirements.
“We have federal air quality requirements we have to meet and the federal (emissions) standard isn’t strict enough to help us get there,” said DEP spokesman Kurt Knaus.
Both regulations still must clear a lengthy regulatory process in the next two months, involving approval from the 20-member Environmental Quality Board and review from the five-member Independent Regulatory Review Commission. Both of them are composed, in part, of legislative appointments.
There’s a potential either measure might be still derailed along the way. For some lawmakers, that would be a blessing.
Backed by industry groups and the United Mine Workers of America, Senate members of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee have been mounting formidable offenses to the measures. On the car emissions, they say they fear Pennsylvania would be abdicating its authority to the California Air Resources Board, which sets emissions standards for California and nine other participating states.
On mercury, opponents have questioned the extent to which mercury emissions are a public health issue and the costliness to Pennsylvania power companies, and thus consumers, in meeting the standards.
They have harangued DEP Secretary Kathy McGinty at hearings this spring, wading through fairly technical and scientific issues on how mercury from coal-fired power plants disperses.
Upset at their lack of traction with the DEP, opposing senators pushed bills through their chamber that would revert to the federal standards; both have been bottled up in House committees.
With the legislative approach stalled, opposing senators led by committee Chairwoman Mary Jo White, a Venango County Republican, are now looking into ways to use the regulatory process to their favor. According to Patrick Henderson, executive director of the Senate environmental committee, opposing senators are considering filing legislative resolutions against the measures. The only apparent way those resolutions would survive a gubernatorial veto is with a subsequent legislative override.
A legislative override of a regulation has rarely, if ever, happened, according to several sources.
“It makes it unlikely for that to occur but it’s a possibility,” said Henderson. “At a minimum we can delay finalization of the regulation.”
Besides differences of opinion with the DEP, senators have been particularly perturbed that they’ve been shut out of drafting major environmental policy.
“My boss (White) has been insistent that especially on mercury these underlying policy decisions should be made by elected officials and not by a bureaucratic agency,” said Henderson. “The thing with legislation is you can find a middle ground and put it in there.”
But Rep. William Adolph, a Delaware County Republican who chairs the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said the DEP has been taking his feedback on the mercury standards.
“We have been working, negotiating, offering ideas, different versions than what’s been introduced and we’ll see what happens,” Adolph said.
He said he doesn’t plan on letting the Senate’s mercury bill out of his committee.
The DEP, too, says it’s received quite a bit of public support on both measures. It received the highest number of public comments ever on its mercury proposal, nearly 11,000 comments. All but three dozen were supportive. Its second highest response ever was for the car emissions standard at 4,800 comments. Fewer than two dozen were opposed, according to DEP spokesman Kurt Knaus.
Still, Knaus said he doesn’t believe the agency is in the clear on these regulations yet. The Clean Vehicles program goes before the Independent Regulatory Review Commission Nov 2. The Environmental Quality Board must approve the new mercury standards on Oct. 17 and in time for a Nov. 17 federal deadline to submit a state-specific plan. If the DEP fails to meet that deadline, Pennsylvania must default to the federal standard.
“We are fast approaching the Nov. 17 deadline,” said Knaus. “If we don’t meet that none of the other things matter.”
Charles Territo, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said he’s not throwing in the towel yet on derailing the DEP’s car emissions plan. That plan requires car manufacturers to sell different vehicles to the Pennsylvania market with changes to their catalytic converters.
Territo said the changes aren’t supposed to cost consumers more, but requires manufacturers to produce two different cars for the U.S. market: ones that meet federal standards and those meeting the California standards.
“It’s a very important issue for the auto industry,” he said.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or begin ahawkes@calkins-media.com ahawkes@calkins-media.com end
.