Air Quality: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly http://ciresgroups.colorado.edu JONATHAN M. MOCH/HARVARD SEAS

Talk Outline Introduction The Clean Air Act and standards setting Particulate Matter (PM) Ozone Mercury Methane

WHO Statistics

Historical Air Pollution Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Clean Air Act - 1970 Regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources Authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants Directs the states to develop state implementation plans (SIPs), applicable to appropriate industrial sources in the state, in order to achieve these standards www.epa.gov

NAAQS Table https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table

What is PM? Particulate matter (PM), also known as particle pollution, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air.  epa.gov

http://www.health.utah.gov/utahair/pollutants/PM/

Health Effects of Air Pollution

https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2018/#growth_w_cleaner_air Annual emissions estimates are used as one indicator of the effectiveness of epahttps://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary programs. The graph below shows that between 1980 and 2017, gross domestic product increased 165 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 110 percent, energy consumption increased 25 percent, and U.S. population grew by 44 percent. During the same time period, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 67 percent. The graph also shows that between 1980 and 2016, CO2 emissions increased by 12 percent. https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2018/#growth_w_cleaner_air

https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2018/#highlights

https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2018/#unhealthy_aq_days

Air Quality – National Summary 1 in 3 live in counties with one or more criteria pollutants above the level of the NAAQs https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary

These data are collected at outdoor monitors

What is Ozone? epa.gov

EPA Strengthens Ozone Standards to Protect Public Health/Science-based standards to reduce sick days, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, greatly outweigh costs 10/01/2015 Contact Information: Enesta Jones (Jones.enesta@epa.gov)202-564-7873 En espaol: Lina Younes (younes.lina@epa.gov)202-564-4355, 202-564-9924

Today’s Air Quality http://www.deqmiair.org/monitoringdata.cfm?site=1687&date=23-Oct-18

Mercury – A Case Study 1950s - mercury as a water pollutant! Wikipedia 1950s - mercury as a water pollutant! www.mercury-free.jp

Minamata Disease NATIONAL Minamata disease victims’ voices dim with age but still cry for recognition BY MINAMI FUNAKOSHI AND KYUNG HOON KIM REUTERS pubs.usgs.gov Minamata disease municipal museum www.mercury-free.jp Minamata Disease Municipal Museum

1980s - mercury as an air pollutant!

The Clean Air Act - Highlights of the 1990 Amendments On November 15, 1990 the Clean Air Act was revised with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. Specifically the amendments were designed to curb four major threats to the environment and to the health of millions of Americans: acid rain, urban air pollution, toxic air emissions, and stratospheric ozone depletion. The amendments also established a national operating permits program to make the law more workable, and strengthened enforcement to help ensure better compliance with the Act. Coal- and oil-fired electricity generating units were the largest remaining source of mercury emissions to the air! In Dec 2000 the agency announced that it was appropriate and necessary to regulate coal and oil-fired EGUs under the Clean Air Act www.epa.gov

Mercury and Air Toxics Rule Issued Dec 2011 Annual cost $9.6 billion per year!

Legal Challenges to the MATS Rule The decision, Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 14-46, does not strike down the rule, but it means the E.P.A. will have to review and rewrite it, taking costs into consideration.

Response to the Supreme Court Findings Consideration of Cost in the Appropriate and Necessary Finding for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for Power Plants Final Action(34 pp, 511 K, About PDF) - Federal Register - April 25, 2016 Annual cost of compliance is 2.7 to 3.5% of annual electricity sales 2000-2001 Annual compliance expenditures represent between 3.0 and 5.9% of total annual power sector capital expenditures over a 10-year period Projected impact on electricity rates an increase of 0.3 cents per kWh Any retirements from MATs would not impact the ability of the power sector to meet electricity demand

Roll Back of MATS Rule E.P.A. to Reconsider Obama-Era Curbs on Mercury Emissions by Power Plants August ‘18 Trump Administration Prepares a Major Weakening of Mercury Emissions Rules Sept ‘18 nyt.com Original rule reducing mercury emissions will bring up to $6 million annually in health benefits, co-benefits of $80 billion from additional reduction in soot and nitrogen oxide as a side effect. New proposal by the present EPA would likely no longer take these into account those “co-benefits” when considering economic impact!

http://www.essknowsair-blog.com We believe a complete and robust residual risk and technology review will recognize the capital investments already made for compliance and will allow the industry to continue full implementation of the MATS rule which was completed in April 2016!

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/inventoryexplorer/#electricitygeneration/allgas/source/current

Roll Back of Methane Rules September ‘18

Roll Back of Methane Rules Applies to oil and gas operations on federal lands Increases the time allowed for inspections of drilling equipment and repair work for any leaks State methane standards can be followed instead of federal (Texas has a lower standard) EPA administration estimates that these changes will save the industry ~$500 million by 2025. California and New Mexico file a lawsuit