Community Conference Call on U.S. EPA's Proposed Air Rules

Community Conference Call on U.S. EPA's Proposed Air Rules

Intended Audience: Environmental Justice and Tribal Communities or Organizations
When: October 22, 2014
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Eastern time

Register at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/oarweb/ejcall/

Participant Dial-in Number: (800) 309-5450 Conference ID#: 22079321
To assist operators, please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.

Purpose: To provide information about upcoming activities in EPA's Air Programs and foster a dialog with communities about their air quality issues. This call will provide updates on the following topics:

Addressing greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft under the Clean Air Act: EPA is beginning the regulatory process in the U.S. to lay the ground work for adopting international standards on aircraft, and to respond to a D.C. District Court ruling. As required under the Clean Air Act, this process starts with EPA making a determination about whether or not greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft contribute to the climate change problem which threatens public health and welfare. For more information - http://www.epa.gov/otaq/aviation.htm

Speakers: Lesley Jantarasami, jantarasami.lesley@epa.gov, 202-343-9929, EPA, Office of Air Radiation (OAR), Office of Atmospheric Programs, and Lucie Audette, audette.lucie@epa.gov, 734-214-4850, EPA, OAR, Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

Reducing Emissions of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), factory-made gases used in several industrial sectors such as air conditioning and refrigeration, are one of the strongest greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and are up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. President Obama's Climate Action Plan of June 2013 includes the goal of reducing emissions of HFCs through US leadership, both through international diplomacy as well as domestic actions. The Climate Action Plan directs the EPA to use its authority through the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program to identify and approve climate-friendly chemicals while prohibiting certain uses of the most harmful chemical alternatives. In addition, the President has directed his Administration to purchase cleaner alternatives to HFCs whenever feasible and transition over time to equipment that uses safer and more sustainable alternatives.

Speaker: Rebecca von dem Hagen, vondemhagen.rebecca@epa.gov, (202) 343-9445, EPA, Office of Atmospheric Program, Stratospheric Protection Division.

Supplemental Proposal Ferroalloys RTR: On October 6, 2014, EPA published a supplemental proposal for the ferroalloys production industry. After considering public comment on a previous proposal and acquiring new data to conduct a more thorough risk analysis, EPA developed this supplemental proposal, which will require facilities to: capture process fugitive emissions and route them to control devices; meet a tighter opacity limit of 8% to reduce visible emissions; meet new mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) emission limits; and continue to meet a strengthened particle pollution emission limit that reflects current performance of control devices in the industry.

EPA estimates that these measures would achieve reductions of 77 tons per year of metal air toxics. During the development of this supplemental rulemaking, EPA met with industry stakeholders, environmental organizations and community groups. Additional information about the supplemental proposal: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/ferroa/ferropg.html.

Speaker: Phil Mulrine, mulrine.phil@epa.gov, 919-541-5289, EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

Proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills: On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed updates to its new source performance standards (NSPS) for municipal solid waste landfills to reduce emissions of methane-rich landfill gas from landfills constructed, modified or reconstructed in the future. These updates would require certain landfills to capture additional landfill gas, which would reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and help further reduce pollution that harms public health. The proposal is part of the Obama Administration's Climate Action Plan - Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions.

Also on June 30, 2014, EPA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking broad public feedback on options for further reducing emissions from existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The agency is considering updating the emission guidelines for existing landfills based on a several factors, including significant changes that have occurred in the landfill industry since the original guidelines were issued in 1996. Nearly 1,000 MSW landfills in the U.S. currently are subject to either the 1996 emission guidelines for existing landfills or the 1996 NSPS for new landfills. Additional information about the NSPS proposal and the ANPRM for the emission guidelines: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/landfill/landflpg.html

Speaker: Hillary Ward, ward.hillary@epa.gov, 919-541-3154, EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

If there are any questions regarding this call, please contact Lena Epps-Price, epps-price.lena@epa.gov, 919-541-5573.

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