1. Improving Air Quality Through PM2.5 Control The U.S. Experience
Thank you for the opportunity to speak and I’m honored to share the podium with Prof Hao, who is a tireless champion for clean air and a good friend of EPA.
I am also pleased to be back in China and to see many friends and familiar faces.
I was last in China in 2005 to lead the EPA delegation to the first Regional Air Quality Management Conference here in Beijing.
I was struck then by China’s initiative and problem-solving abilities as well as your commitment to improving air quality
At that conference, we introduced the concepts of regional air quality management. Now China is implementing those concepts as China revises air pollution control law, developing the 12th Five Year Plan, and issuing guidance on regional air quality and energy management.
So I am struck now by the speed at which you have incorporated what you learned into your policies and programs.
It is remarkable how much progress China has made in its efforts to address air quality in these past 5 years.
Examples:
Street level pollution is down as vehicle fleet is cleaned up and public transportation improved;
Old inefficient, dirty coal fired boilers have been shut down
Many cities are replacing dirtier coal with cleaner natural gas for heating
National goals for sulfur dioxide emission reductions and for improved energy efficiency
Dale M. Evarts
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
Chris James
Regulatory Assistance Project
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this document are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document, and accept no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation or reference to a particular territory or geographical area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

2. Key Messages
Air quality management is a continuous cycle of development and improvement with a goal of improving public health and the environment
PM2.5 is a multi-pollutant mixture of primary and secondarily formed substances that can be systematically controlled
National, regional and local regulations, along with voluntary and market-based programs, can be effective in achieving reductions
Regional cooperation is critical for controlling air pollution that affects multiple cities and states/provinces
Providing information to the public enables them to play a key role in achieving standards and improving public health
EPA continues to face ozone challenges.

3. Air Quality Management Cycle
Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards
Establish Goals
Determine Emission Reductions
Control Strategies
Scientific Research
Air quality management is a continuous cycle of development and improvement:
Establish goals – the National Ambient Air Quality Standards are the air quality goals that apply everywhere in the US
Determine the reductions needed to meet those goals using information gathered from monitors, emission inventories, and air quality models
Design control strategies to achieve reductions and meet the goals
Implement these strategies through air pollution control programs, policies, guidance and technical assistance
And finally, continuously evaluate the results and make appropriate adjustments to the goals, objectives and reduction strategies.
Supporting this entire process is scientific research. Decisions affecting public health and the environment – and costing the economy many billions of dollars to implement – require a foundation of good science.
On-going Evaluation
Implementation Programs

4. EPA Air Program Structure – National Level
Office of the Administrator
Final authority for EPA actions
Office of Air and Radiation
Responsible for national air quality programs
Office of General Counsel
Legal support for air quality rules and policies, case-by-case decisions (e.g., permits and response actions), and legislation.
Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance
Works in partnership with states, etc, to enforce laws
Office of Research and Development
Provides scientific foundations for national policies

5. EPA Air Program Structure – Regional Level
Ten Regional Offices
Work directly with State, local and tribal governments to implement national air quality programs

6. The federal government:
AQM Responsibilities
The federal government:
Sets air quality standards
Designates areas as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable
Establishes national controls for certain source categories that states cannot regulate (e.g., mobile sources)
Promulgates regulations to address interstate transport of pollution
Develops guidance to interpret rules and Clean Air Act requirements
Approves and enforces SIPs
States:
Recommend designation of areas
Develop emission inventories
Operate air quality monitoring networks
Perform air quality modeling and identify emissions control strategies needed to attain standards
Adopt the necessary measures into their State Implementation Plans
Enforce regulations
Issue pre-construction and operating permits

7. Setting National Ambient Air Quality Standards
PRIMARY STANDARDS
The level required to protect public health, allowing for an adequate margin of safety
Under the Clean Air Act, the levels set for NAAQS are based on these considerations
Reviewed every 5 yrs
Scientific panel (CASAC) advises EPA
SECONDARY STANDARDS
The level required to protect public welfare (visibility, crops, forests, etc.) from any known or anticipated adverse effects
It’s important to note that in the US, we set goals based on public health and environmental impacts, not air pollution emissions. One contributes to the other, but our ultimate goal is to protect public health and welfare.
The Clean Air Act established two types of standards:
Primary standards set limits to protect public health, including the health of "sensitive" populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly.
Secondary standards set limits to protect public welfare, including protection against visibility impairment and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings.
As air quality standards are developed, EPA assesses the expected health, environmental and economic impact of the new standards nationwide.
CHINA: Is established a phased on approach to setting ambient air quality standards, thereby linking the level of the standard with cities’ ability to achieve the standard
NOTE: Costs and technology are not considered in setting the level of NAAQS, but later in the implementation phase.

8. Evolution of Ozone and PM Standards
Particulate Matter
Year
Averaging Time
Parts Per Million
1971
1 hour
0.08*
1979
0.12
1993
unchanged
1997
8 hour
0.08
2008
0.075
Year
Averaging Time
ug/m3
Pollutant
1971
24-hour
260/150
TSP*
annual 75
TSP
1987
150
PM-10 50
1997 65
PM-2.5 15
2006 35
revoked
2012 12
 We are required to continually review our standards.
We don’t always revise them, but we are required to summarize the evolving air pollution health and environmental effects science every 5 years to determine if the standards are adequately protecting public health and welfare.
This shows the evolution of our standards for ozone and fine particles – standards that are very significant in terms of health impacts. They have gotten tighter as our health impacts science has progressed. The purple shading indicates standards currently in effect.
We are expected to issue tighter standards for ozone in the coming weeks, pending the decision by EPA Administrator Jackson.
= current standards
* Total Photochemical Oxidants
* Total Suspended Particles (25-45 um)

9. Implementing the US NAAQS
Designating areas
Developing state implementation plans (SIPs)
Federal measures
PM2.5 controls
Mobile source measures
Regional control programs

10. Designating Nonattainment Areas
After Air Quality Standards are revised:
States submit recommendations to EPA regarding attainment, nonattainment or unclassifiable areas
EPA designates areas attainment or nonattainment for ozone and PM2.5 based on the most recent 3 years of monitor data.
Areas are to be designated nonattainment if they either violate the standard or contribute to a violation in a nearby area
Size of area varies by pollutant
EPA makes the final decision on appropriate designation of areas

11. Monitoring Requirements
Cities and States are required to locate at least one PM2.5 monitor:
In an area of “expected maximum concentration”; however,
We also require the site to be representative of “an area-wide location”
Not overly influenced by a single source, unless that source is persistent around the city
In most cases this means:
Having a neighborhood scale of representation
Locating monitors in the urban core of a city and in a downwind location under light wind conditions as might be the case in an inversion or other episode
A site in the area of expected maximum concentration will likely be higher than other neighborhoods in the upwind part of the city, or sites that have a coastal sea breeze.

12. Chicago Region Nonattainment Area
Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN
PM2.5 annual 15 micrograms/m3
PM hour 35 micrograms/m3

13. State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
After nonattainment areas are designated:
CAA requires States to submit an attainment plan within months (varies by pollutant) of nonattainment area designation
States must demonstrate attainment “as expeditiously as practicable”
Ozone (3-20 years); PM2.5 (5-10 years)
Take into account national and state emission reductions already in place
Adopt regulations to require reasonable controls on sources in the state and to prevent significant contribution to other “downwind” states
Provide public notice and opportunity for comment
Submit to EPA for review and approval

14. Elements of a Nonattainment Area Plan
Develop detailed emission inventory of sources
Identify existing federal & state controls
Evaluate (technically and economically) feasible new controls on sources in nonattainment area and state
Conduct air quality modeling to evaluate air quality improvement from projected existing and new emission reductions
Adopt enforceable regulations and control measures: emission limits, test methods, monitoring and reporting for specific sources
Ensure reasonable progress toward attainment
Adopt contingency measures to apply in the event the area fails to attain by its attainment date
Include authority to stop air pollution that endangers public health (emergency powers)

15. EPA Review and Approval
EPA works with states to develop plans for submittal by established deadlines
EPA reviews and approves plans that meet applicable requirements. This makes state regulations federally enforceable.
If states fail to submit timely SIPs or EPA disapproves plan, various sanctions apply.
In some cases, EPA may develop and implement a federal plan in the state.

16. Failing to Comply with Requirements vs. Failing to Attain the Standard:
States that fail to comply with planning or implementation requirements may be subject to sanctions
New source emissions offset ratio of 2 to 1
Restricted highway funding
States that fail to attain by the attainment date, no sanctions apply, but…
States must undertake a new round of planning and control measure development
EPA can require additional measures to ensure attainment by a new attainment date
Ozone areas are automatically reclassified to higher classification and must meet additional requirements
The timeline for imposing emission offsets sanctions is 18 months after a failure to submit or final disapproval of a state implementation plan. Highway funding sanctions are applied after two years.
EPA has imposed emissions offsets sanctions in over 25 cities.
EPA has imposed highway funding sanctions in 10 cities
The timeline for the EPA to do the plan for the state is 2 years after a failure to submit or final disapproval of a state plan.
EPA has implemented federal plans for failures in Chicago and Phoenix, Arizona

17. Stationary source controls
SIPs must include a set of rules that require permits for the construction and operation of new or modified stationary sources.
These sources must install technology that meets the lowest achievable emission rate and secure additional emission reductions to offset any increases in emissions

18. Transportation Conformity
Ensure that federal funding and approval are given to highway and transit projects that are consistent with ("conform to") the air quality goals established by a state air quality implementation plan (SIP)
Conformity, for the purpose of the SIP, means that transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the national ambient air quality standards

19. Federal Measures
Federal programs provide for nationwide reductions in emissions ozone through:
Federal Mobile Source Control Program including controls for automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle, and nonroad emissions
New source performance standards
Emission standards for hazardous air pollutants
Regional trading programs (e.g., NOx Budget Trading Rule)

20. Ozone nonattainment requirements
Persistent difficulties attaining the ozone standard have led to further requirements specific to ozone
Ozone nonattainment areas are classified from marginal to extreme according to the degree of nonattainment, with increasingly more stringent control obligations in more heavily polluted areas
Higher classifications have more time to attain, from three to twenty years respectively
Higher classifications must include all controls required for lower classifications as well
The ozone program has changed over time to differentiate between areas based on the severity of their ozone problem, balancing the element of more time with greater stringency of control.

21. Point sources controls for PM2.5
Direct PM has been regulated in some form in the US since 1970s
Controlling total suspended particles and PM-10 has resulted in significant overall reductions in direct PM2.5
Completely uncontrolled stack sources of PM are relatively rare
Methods to achieve further reductions in PM2.5 include:
Capture and send to control device (baghouse, ESP, etc; as noted most PM sources already controlled)
Improve performance of existing controls
Improve capture of particles
Identify and mitigate malfunctions
Upgrade control devices
The US got a headstart on its PM2.5 air quality control program (and so is China) by controlling many of the sources while targeting coarser particles (PM10, TSP)

22. Resources for Control Information
EPA website:
EPA summary tables:
STAPPA/ALAPCO menu of options:

23. EPA’s Mobile Source Roadmap
Tier 2 Light-Duty
final rule 1999
fully phased in 2009
Diesels held to same stringent standards as gasoline vehicles
GAS 30 PPM; DIESEL 15 PPM
2009
Heavy-Duty Highway
sales 800,000 / yr
40B gallons / yr
final rule 2000
fully phased in 2010
DIESEL 15 PPM
2010
Likewise, national NOx, VOC and other pollutant emission standards for cars, trucks, construction and farm equipment, ships and locomotives all support local and state efforts to attain the air quality standards.
The most recent vehicle and truck standards are based on treating engines and fuels as a single system, and mandating ultra-low sulfur fuels (less than 15ppm sulfur).
As others have stated in this forum, China has the opportunity to leap ahead in its air quality efforts by adopting low sulfur fuel standards to match its vehicle standards.
As a result, today, new cars are 98 percent cleaner than in 1970 in terms of ozone-forming pollutants.
Nonroad Diesel
sales over 650,000 / yr
12B gallons / yr
final rule 2004
fully phased in 2015
DIESEL 15 PPM
Ocean Going Vessels
Clean Air Act Rule December 2009
International Maritime Organization
(IMO) MARPOL Annex VI
Emission Control Area Controls:
- Fuel Based PPM sulfur
- SCR Catalyst Based 2016
2015
2017
Locomotive/Marine
sales 40,000 marine engines,
1,000 locomotives / yr
final rule 2008
fully phased in 2017
DIESEL 15 PPM
Note: sales and diesel fuel usage vary year-to-year; these figues are for comparison purposes only 23 23

24. Mobile Source Program Impacts in 2030: Examples
NOx
thousands of tons reduced
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Light Duty
Tier 2
Heavy-Duty
Highway
Nonroad
Diesel
Locomotive
/ Marine PM
thousands of tons reduced
Cost
$Billion / year
Benefits
15:1
$Billion / year
benefit to
cost ratio
5:1
17:1
40:1
This slide shows the projected NOx and particulate matter emission reductions, along with the significant estimated benefit to cost ratio, under these programs.

25. Requirements for Regional Pollution
State plans must address contributions of their sources to air quality problems in other states.
State plans must provide controls necessary to prevent any significant interference with attainment or maintenance in downwind states
For the Eastern US, this provided EPA with authority for:
Regional NOx Budget Trading Program Rule (1998)
Clean Air Interstate Rule (2005)
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (2011)
Possible future rules related to transboundary air pollution
EPA can create regional emissions trading programs to address transported emissions if states fail to address through SIPs
These rules affects power plants because their emission can be transported over long distances and reductions are most cost-effective.
Other actions by EPA and the states will work to solve the remaining transport part of the problem and the local part of the problem.

26. Regional emissions within the U.S.
Air pollution can travel hundreds of miles and cause multiple health and environmental problems on regional or national scales.
EPA has rules that result in reducing emissions contributing to PM2.5 and ozone nonattainment that often travel across state lines:
SO2 and NOx contribute to PM2.5 transport
NOx contributes to ozone transport
Attaining national ambient air quality standards requires emission reductions from:
Sources located in or near nonattainment areas (local pollution).
Sources located further from the nonattainment area (transported pollution), and
Pollution emitted by power plants, cars, trucks, and other industrial facilities.
Many areas violating ozone and fine particle air quality standards “nonattainment areas.”
Nonattainment in most locations is caused by both local and transported emissions.

27. Acid Rain Program: Major Reductions in SO2 Emissions and Acid Rain
Annual Mean Wet Sulfate Deposition
Power Plant SO2 Emissions
SO2 emissions down by
5.5 million tons since 1990
Acid rain cut by 25 –40%
Million Tons of SO2
11.9
15.7
10.2
17.3
11.2
The first ten years of the program saw dramatic decreases in SO2 and resulting decreases in acid rain
SO2 emission came down by 5.5 million tons since 1990 and as a result, acid rain has been reduced by between 25 and 40%
Substantial health, visibility, and other benefits provided

28. Voluntary Programs Education Programs Mobile Source Programs
AIRNow/Air Awareness Campaigns/Ozone Action Days/
Forecasting/reporting by states/localities
Mobile Source Programs
Private Vehicle Programs
Smart Growth Land Use/Transportation Energy Efficiency Programs
Non-road Programs (Engines, Equipment, Vehicles)
Diesel emission reduction programs
Industrial/Commercial Actions
Energy STAR Buildings
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System
Energy Efficiency Measures/Programs
We use voluntary programs to supplement and compliment regulatory programs
Diesel Emissions Reduction programs

29. 45 62
123
485
215 55
Air Quality Forecasts
Air Quality Data
AIRNow &
AIRNow is EPA’s national system for acquiring and distributing air quality information to the public
Provides current and forecasted air quality information for most of North America
Builds support for air quality improvement programs
AIRNow-International successfully piloted at Shanghai 2010 World Expo
New system is identical to AIRNow in U.S.
Is adaptable to other cities and countries
Builds a community of people and organizations dedicated to air quality information exchange
April 2008: MOU signed between Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) and EPA to begin AIRNow-I pilot project
January 2009: Beta testing begins
June 2009: OAQPS delegation visits Shanghai to oversee installation of final hardware and software and conduct training
January 2010: Shanghai EPB begins testing public release of air quality products – maps, data, etc.
May 2010: AIRNow-I begins offering realtime data at World Expo
October 2010: AIRNow-I showcased at Shanghai World Expo, GEO-Beijing, and presented at Clean Air Initiative – Asia.
January 2011: Yangtze River Delta (YRD) regional AIRNow-I workshop
Future Efforts:
Mexico - efforts continue. Plan developed. Seeking funding and resources.
Brazil - potential support for upcoming Olympic Games and World Cup
Asia
Encourage data sharing via GEOSS in each pilot
Bring in other COPs 29

30. Real-time reporting of Air Quality
Purpose
Communicate air quality to the public
Protect people’s health
Reduce people’s exposure to poor air quality, especially sensitive groups (people with heart or lung disease,
older adults, and children)
Same Air Quality Index (AQI) scale and color are used for all pollutants and across the U.S.

31. 谢谢 ! Dale Evarts US Environmental Protection Agency

32. Progress Toward Clean Air 1970-2010 Pollution Down While Growth Continues
Many of you have seen this graph before. It makes an essential point related to protecting air quality: that economic growth does not have to come at the expense of the environment – they are partners, with air quality improvements actually driving economic growth.
Gross Domestic Product has more than doubled
Vehicle Miles (or Kilometers) Traveled have increased 170%
Population and Energy consumption are both up around 50%.
Yet, in the 40 years since the Clean Air Act went into effect, we’ve reduced over 70% of the dangerous air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, lead poisoning and more.
US still faces air quality challenges, and like China, we have a major challenge to reduce greenhouse gases, but we have come a long way. We look forward to learning new approaches from China.
Source:

33. Health/Economic Benefits of U.S. Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act Benefits
205,000 premature deaths avoided
40:1 ratio of benefits/costs
Clean Air Act Benefits
160,000 premature deaths avoided, as well as
Millions of cases of heart disease, bronchitis, asthma and other illnesses
25:1 ratio of benefits/costs
(Full report available at
 In December of this year, EPA will celebrate a major milestone, its 40th anniversary as an Agency and also the 40th anniversary of the US Clean Air Act, our primary law for air quality management.
EPA compared environmental conditions with and without the U.S. Clean Air Act and associated federal, State and local rules between 1970 and 1990:
The economic value of the public health and environmental benefits that Americans have enjoyed from the Clean Air Act of 1970 were estimated to exceed their costs by a margin of 42 to 1.
A second comparison study of the period , when more expensive programs were necessary to get additional air quality improvements:
EPA estimated that by 2010 the benefits of these Clean Air Act amendment programs would exceed their costs by a margin of 4 to 1.
These studies show that the CAA, its amendments and associated programs are preventing:
hundreds of thousands of premature deaths related to air pollution
millions of cases of respiratory illness
wide range of other human health, human welfare, and ecological effects.