Government

Clean Air: Most States Ready for New Rule, Study Finds

A new survey finds that nearly 80% of the states say they will be ready to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s new clean-air “tailoring” regulation by the Jan. 2 deadline or within a few months after that.

EPA’s final regulation, published on June 3, focuses states’ greenhouse-gas (GHG) permitting on the largest “stationary” sources of such emissions, such as powerplants and industrial facilities.

The study, released on Sept. 15 by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, analyzed letters that states sent to EPA this summer describing progress toward meeting the permitting deadline. Bill Becker, NACAA’s executive director, says states that won’t make the deadline have regulatory or legislative constraints. But one large state, Texas, told EPA it does not intend to begin permitting at all.

Meanwhile, an industry coalition that includes the National Association of Home Builders asked a federal appeals court on Sept. 16 to issue a partial stay of EPA’s regulation. The group claims the rule will stifle capital spending and construction projects.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

As ENR's former Washington Bureau Chief, Tom Ichniowski wrote about the federal government since the George H.W. Bush administration, and covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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