Environmentalists criticise US 'flexible air permits'

New York, 30 August: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking to increase "flexibility" in air permits, in order to reduce paperwork, but environmentalists claim the plan would loosen enforcement of pollution rules.

On 28 August, the EPA proposed changes to the permitting rules on pollution, which would allow power plants and factories to make significant changes, for example switching from burning oil to coal, without going through the full process of permit revision.

According to the agency, these changes to Title V operating permits and to the New Source Review (NSR) programme, both under the Clean Air Act (CAA), would allow for changes "including the addition of entirely new units that would otherwise require review and approval by the permitting authority". Under 'alternative operating scenarios', emitters would be able to make changes to existing plants without a permit revision, as long as the owner could explain how it would continue to comply with the CAA.

But John Walke, clean air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Washington, DC, said: "The flexibility comes at the price of public health."

He explained that all US clean air and water regulations are subject to "technology forcing laws" that require the "best available control technology" (BACT). The proposals would let companies establish strategies up to 10 years in advance, allowing them "to avoid pollution controls that may be required because of the march of technology". Furthermore, the air shed in which the plant is located could change over that time. "If you try to predict the future 10 years from now, you're likely to get it wrong," Walke said.

The EPA proposal would also allow for 'green groups', under which a number of plants could be ducted to a common pollution control device. Operators could make changes within that group without obtaining new permits, as long as the group's limits are honoured.

NRDC's Walke called that proposal "flatly illegal", because it would ignore the BACT requirement when changes are made.

He stressed that one advantage of the current permitting rules is the potential for the public to comment on emitters' plans. With the new proposal, the Bush administration "is trying to cut the public out of the process", he said.

The EPA invites comment for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, expected in early September. Click here to see the proposal, and here for a summary, including instructions on commenting.