Clean Air Issues
Activity Report
September 2002

• Selected items are forwarded to SC-NJ Cons-Com and Loantaka Ex-Com to keep members advised of developments, related legislation, actions recommended, etc.
  • New Source Review (NSR)
  • air-mail (many different air quality and energy related issues)
  • RefineryReform (mainly re: NSR)
  • Hg-WG (Mercury Work Group)
  • compliance_alliance (re: Title V Operating Permits)
• I participated in the 3rd & 4th (8/27, 9/24) meetings of the Warren-Northampton Regional Air Quality Advisory Panel held respectively at PPL's Martins Creek Plant in Lower Mt. Bethel Twp, PA and at the Belvidere, NJ High School.

  Summaries of these meetings, information presented or distributed, info on key discussions and decisions, and the By-Laws, as adopted by the panel on 8/27/02, will be posted on the major documents section of the Chapter website as soon as they are released for distribution. I have requested that the summaries of the first three meetings (June - August) be released ASAP for distribution by members' to their companies, agencies and organizations.

  As for the work of the "Issues Committee", of which I am also a member, we have recommended that some air quality benchmarks, specifically those established in the form of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants (SO2, ozone fine particulates and lead) be adopted by the panel, while benchmarks for other pollutants would need to be created.

• Clean Car Campaign

  Working to have NJ adopt the [more stringent] CA LEV II emission standards as now exist in NY, MA and VT. I attended one Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee hearing on this issue last November and presented information on this issue at the April 2002 NJDEP Clean Air Council Annual Public Hearing in Trenton. I emphasized the even greater importance of passing the bills (S.121 & A.409) calling for this change in emissions for all cars sold in NJ beginning in 2006 as a result of the U.S. Senate's failure to approve any increase in the federal CAFE standards. Will be working/coordinating with Dena Mattola, Project Mgr for NJPIRG on this issue.

  No activity on this by me during Sept 2002.

• Guidance needed for candidates running for Congress in District 7 (Tim Carden and Rep. Mike Ferguson) and District 11 (Vij Pawar and Rep. Rodney Ferguson).

  I still intend to gather and organize info to be offered to the candidates to promote their support for two major federal energy bills; S.556, the Clean Power Act of 2001 introduced in the Senate by Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), otherwise known as the 4 Pollutant Bill, and its companion bill in the House, HR 1256, the Clean Smokestacks Act of 2001 introduced by Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). Both bills are different and far superior than the Clear Skies Initiative proposed by Pres. Bush in that they call for establishing limits on the emissions of CO2 (the major greenhouse gas contributing to Global Warming) from electric power plants as well as on SO2, NOx and Mercury and for compliance by 2007. The Presidents proposal does nothing regarding the emissions of CO2 from power plants and does not require full compliance until 2020!

  Should have been done in Sept 2002. MUST complete early October!

• I am still seeking to recruit volunteers from each NJ Group to review the Title V Operating Permit applications received by NJDEP from companies that are major sources of emissions in each County, especially those not yet approved by NJDEP and EPA Region II. Detailed lists of companies by county have been provided to several groups earlier this year.

  No activity on this by me during Sept 2002.

• In the interest of reducing mobile emissions, I have worked with other members to promote a 10 cent increase in the state's tax on motor fuels and to dedicate the proceeds to the funding of improved mass transit and repairing bridges and highways.

  No activity on this by me during Sept 2002.

• I have continued to monitor and report on developments re the new USEPA Diesel Rules calling for a 97% reduction of Sulfur in the fuel and for manufacturers of diesel engines used in heavy trucks and buses (GVW = 8,500 lbs and over) to provide engines and emission control systems designed to accommodate this change in the fuel by 2004.

  Distributed a report on Sept 10 advising that EPA's Office of Research and Development had released the Health Assessment for Diesel Engine Exhaust. It's available via EPA's home page or at www.epa.gov/ncea. The assessment states that long-term exposure to diesel exhaust is likely to cause lung cancer.

• In the August 10th report I noted my continuing efforts to follow-up on the Chapter's opposition to EPA's proposed approval of NJ's Open Market Emissions Trading (OMET) Program, as stated in letters sent by Bill Wolfe, NJ Chapter Policy Director, to both the USEPA Administrator, Region 2 and the Inspector General in March 2001, and to have NJDEP cease all activity related to the OMET Program.

  In an August 13 letter to the EPA, Bradley Campbell, Commissioner of NJDEP, announced his intention to terminate the OMET Program saying that "The program's ostensible clean air benefits were limited by the failure to include safeguards to ensure that the program would in fact reduce emissions." Copies of news articles and other major items on this subject will be sent separately to Cons-Com for posting on the major documents section of the Chapter website.