INTERIM REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHANGES IN NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAMS FOR STATIONARY SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTANTS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. XA-83152301-0 between the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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COMMITTEE ON CHANGES IN NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAMS FOR STATIONARY SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTANTS
Members
CHARLES F. STEVENS (Chair),
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
JEAN M. ANDINO,
University of Florida, Gainesville
LYLE R. CHINKIN,
Sonoma Technology, Inc., Petaluma, CA
HEREK L. CLACK,
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
EDWIN H. CLARK II,
Clean Sites, Inc., Washington, DC
JOHN C. CRITTENDEN,
Arizona State University, Tempe
H. CHRISTOPHER FREY,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
BENJAMIN F. HOBBS,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
JONATHAN I. LEVY,
Harvard University, Boston, MA
THOMAS A. LOUIS,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
BRIAN F. MANNIX,
Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA
JOE L. MAUDERLY,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM
CRAIG N. OREN,
Rutgers University, Camden, NJ
KAREN L. PALMER,
Resources for the Future, Washington, DC
LYNN M. RUSSELL,
University of California at San Diego, La Jolla
MITCHELL J. SMALL,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
IRA B. TAGER,
University of California, Berkeley
JOHN G. WATSON,
Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV
Staff
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Project Director
EILEEN ABT, Senior Program Officer
CAY BUTLER, Editor
MIRSADA KARALIC-LONCAREVIC, Research Associate
LEAH PROBST, Research Associate
BRYAN SHIPLEY, Research Associate
JOHN H. BROWN, JR., Program Associate
SAMMY BARDLEY, Librarian
Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY1
Members
JONATHAN M. SAMET (Chair),
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
RAMON ALVAREZ,
Environmental Defense, Austin, TX
THOMAS BURKE,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
JUDITH C. CHOW,
Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV
RORY B. CONOLLY,
CIIT Center for Health Research, Research Triangle Park, NC
COSTEL D. DENSON,
University of Delaware, Newark
E. DONALD ELLIOTT,
Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, LLP, Washington, DC
CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD,
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, CA
WILLIAM H. GLAZE,
Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton
SHERRI W. GOODMAN,
Center for Naval Analyses, Alexandria, VA
JUDITH A. GRAHAM,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, VA
DANIEL S. GREENBAUM,
Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, MA
ROBERT HUGGETT,
Michigan State University, East Lansing
BARRY L. JOHNSON,
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
JAMES H. JOHNSON,
Howard University, Washington, DC
JUDITH L. MEYER,
University of Georgia, Athens
PATRICK Y. O’BRIEN,
ChevronTexaco Energy Technology Company, Richmond, CA
DOROTHY E. PATTON,
International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, DC
STEWARD T.A. PICKETT,
Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
JOSEPH V. RODRICKS,
Environ Corp., Arlington, VA
ARMISTEAD G. RUSSELL,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
MITCHELL J. SMALL,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
LISA SPEER,
Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY
KIMBERLY M. THOMPSON,
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
G. DAVID TILMAN,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul
CHRIS G. WHIPPLE,
Environ Incorporated, Emeryville, CA
LAUREN A. ZEISE,
California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland
Senior Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Scholar
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Officer for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Senior Program Officer for Toxicology
ROBERTA M. WEDGE, Senior Program Officer for Risk Analysis
K. JOHN HOLMES, Senior Program Officer
SUSAN N.J. MARTEL, Senior Program Officer
SUZANNE VAN DRUNICK, Senior Program Officer
EILEEN N. ABT, Senior Program Officer
ELLEN K. MANTUS, Senior Program Officer
RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Senior Editor
OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestion (2005)
Air Quality Management in the United States (2004)
Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River (2004)
Atlantic Salmon in Maine (2004)
Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin (2004)
Cumulative Environmental Effects of Alaska North Slope Oil and Gas Development (2003)
Estimating the Public Health Benefits of Proposed Air Pollution Regulations (2002)
Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices (2002)
The Airliner Cabin Environment and Health of Passengers and Crew (2002)
Arsenic in Drinking Water: 2001 Update (2001)
Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs (2001)
Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act (2001)
A Risk-Management Strategy for PCB-Contaminated Sediments (2001)
Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals (4 volumes, 2000-2004)
Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury (2000)
Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2000)
Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment (2000)
Ecological Indicators for the Nation (2000)
Waste Incineration and Public Health (1999)
Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment (1999)
Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter (4 volumes, 1998-2004)
The National Research Council’s Committee on Toxicology: The First 50 Years (1997)
Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet (1996)
Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest (1996)
Science and the Endangered Species Act (1995)
Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)
Biologic Markers (5 volumes, 1989-1995)
Review of EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (3 volumes, 1994-1995)
Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment (1994)
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)
Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)
Science and the National Parks (1992)
Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)
Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution (1991)
Decline of the Sea Turtles (1990)
Copies of these reports may be ordered from the National Academies Press
(800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313
Preface
The United States Congress directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to arrange for an independent study by the National Research Council (NRC) to evaluate potential air quality, public health, and other impacts of EPA’s final rules of December 31, 2002, and October 27, 2003, relating to the New Source Review (NSR) programs that are part of the Clean Air Act. In response, the National Research Council established the Committee on Changes in New Source Review Programs for Stationary Sources of Air Pollutants. Biographical information on the committee members is presented in Appendix A. In response to Congress, the committee is providing this interim report and will deliver its final report in 2005.
In the course of preparing this report, the committee met three times. At two of the meetings, which were held in Washington, DC, officials from local, state, and federal agencies and representatives from the private sector and nongovernmental organizations, including regulated industries and advocacy groups, were invited to meet with the committee and present their views on changes to the NSR programs. Interested members of the public at large were also given an opportunity to speak on these occasions.
The committee received oral and written presentations from the following individuals: William Becker, State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO); Robert Bessette, Council of Industrial Boiler Owners; F. William Brownell, Hunton and Williams; Norbert Dee, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association; John Dege, DuPont Company; Peggy Duxbury, Calpine; Jerry Golden, Ten-
nessee Valley Authority; William Harnett, Jeffrey Holmstead, Michael Ling, Philip Lorang, all of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; David McIntosh, Natural Resources Defense Counsel; Christopher Miller, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; William Pedersen, William F. Pedersen PLLC; Eric Schaeffer, Environmental Integrity Project; Scott H. Segal, Electric Reliability Coordinating Council; John Shanahan, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; Robert Slaughter, National Petrochemical and Refiners Association; Joseph Stanko, Hunton and Williams; Margaret Taylor, University of California at Berkeley; Michael Vince, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality; Steve Wilson, Southern Company; James Witkowski, International Paper and the American Forest and Paper Association; Samuel Wolfe, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and Tammy R. Wyles, Georgia-Pacific Corporation and the American Forest and Paper Association.
In addition to the information provided in those presentations, the committee is using peer-reviewed scientific literature, reports from government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, databases, and other types of information. The committee has not completed the process of information gathering and analysis; therefore, readers of this interim report should not assume that the committee has reached any final conclusions or recommendations in response to its charge from Congress. Those will be presented in the committee’s final report.
We wish to thank William Happer for his valuable service as chair of the committee during the early stages of this study. He resigned appropriately from the committee to serve on the Science and Technology Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The committee’s work for this interim report was assisted by staff of the NRC’s Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). We wish to thank Raymond Wassel, project director, and James Reisa, director of BEST. Scientific and technical information was provided by Eileen Abt, Leah Probst, Mirsada Karalic-Loncarevic, Bryan Shipley, Sammy Bardley, and Alexandra Stupple. Invaluable logistical support was provided by John Brown and Kemi Yai. The report was ably edited by Cay Butler.
Charles Stevens, Chair
Comittee on Changes in New Source Review Programs for Stationary Sources of Air Pollutants
Acknowledgment of Review Participants
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Wayne T. Davis, University of Tennessee; Jeremy Hales, Envair Corporation; Jay Hofmann, Trinity Consultants; Morton Lippmann, New York University School of Medicine; Janet G. McCabe, Indiana Department of Environmental Management; Jana B. Milford, Environmental Defense and University of Colorado; Robert O’Keefe, Health Effects Institute; Richard Revesz, New York University School of Law; Ralph L. Roberson, RMB Consulting & Research, Inc.; James Jay Schauer, University of Wisconsin; Robert N. Stavins, Harvard University; and Samuel A. Wolfe, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by
David Allen, University of Texas. Appointed by the NRC he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.