Overview of Stationary Source Pollution Control and Management in the U.S. Barbara A. Finamore Senior Attorney Natural Resources Defense Council Better Air Quality Workshop 2002 Hong Kong December 16, 2002

6 Major Pollutants Tracked by US EPA Carbon MonoxideLead Nitrogen DioxideOzone Particulate MatterSulfur Dioxide Except for NO X, emissions have decreased or remained the same from Still 130 non-attainment areas (of 230), 133 million people live in counties with pollution levels exceeding National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Nonattainment areas in the US Source:

6 Criteria Pollutants, 1999 Emissions in tons of pollutant emitted Source:

Percentage contribution by source to U.S. criteria pollutant emissions, 1999 Source:

1990 Clean Air Act Amendments: Central Themes Acid Rain Controls Air Toxics Provisions Provisions for Preventing Smog and Meeting Air Quality Standards New Permitting Systems Market Based Controls More Stringent Enforcement

Acid Rain Program EPA Program in CAA beginning 1995 to reduce acid rain through emissions trading program and emissions caps - Phase I: large coal-fired power plants - Phase II: smaller coal, gas and oil plants Permanent cap on SO 2 emissions by 2010 (of 8.95 million tons) Reduce NO X emission to 2 million tons less than 1980 levels by 2000

U.S. Still Needs Comprehensive Power Plant Cleanup Program U.S. Power Plants Emit: Two-Thirds of All U.S. Sulfur Dioxide Forty Percent of All U.S. Carbon Dioxide One-Third of All U.S. Nitrogen Oxide One-Third of All U.S. Mercury Emissions

Loophole in 1970 Clean Air Act for Older Plants Most Air Quality Problems Thought Local Electric Power Industry Was Mostly Local Congress Believed Existing Plants Would Retire Older Plants Therefore Exempt from New Source Performance Standards New Situation Calls for New Approach

Controls Needed for Older Power Plants year old power plants produced 59 percent of SO 2 emissions, 47 percent of NOx and 42 percent of CO 2 from fossil-fuel-fired units in 2000, despite producing only 42 percent of the electricity from such units. For equal quantities of electricity generated, older units, in the aggregate, emitted about twice as much SO 2 and about 25 percent more NOx than did the newer units.

Comprehensive Program Needed that Includes CO 2 and Mercury Emission Controls Comprehensive Approach is Less Expensive Than Piecemeal Approach Will Encourage Investment in Cleaner, More Efficient Resources Failure to Take Steps Now Will Increase Damage, Prolong Uncertainty and Encourage Unfair Competition