Timing is Everything  – While Congress moved closer to enacting historic cuts in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to announce final FY 2006 allotments for the Drink Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).  On July 5^th, the EPA released final allotments for FY 2006 totaling nearly $837.5 million as well tentative allotments for FY 2007 totaling $841 million.  This announcement was coupled with funding notifications for both proposed Public Water Supervision System FY 2007 grants ($98 million)  and FY 2006 counterterrorism grants ($5 million).  Before a state can receive a DWSRF capitalization grant it must meet a 20% match requirement.  States should keep in mind that Congress has not finalized the FY 2007 appropriations legislation covering EPA and the DWSRF and can expect the tentative allotments for FY 2007 to be revised in the coming months to reflect final action on H.R. 5386 or a subsequent omnibus appropriations bill.

• State by State Chart - Distribution of DWSRF appropriation for FY 2006: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf/allotments/funding_dwsrf_allotments-2006.html
• State by State Chart - Distribution of DWSRF tentative allotments for FY 2007 http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf/allotments/funding_dwsrf_allotments_tent.html

PRENOTIFICATION OF MERCURY SWITCHES – On July 5, the EPA announced a proposed rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act that would require the EPA be notified 90 days in advance if anyone plans to use elemental mercury in either new or aftermarket replacement part automotive switches for active ride-controls, anti-lock brake systems, and convenience-light switches.   Mercury largely has not been used in switches by manufacturers since 2003.  However, motor vehicles continue to rank as the largest source of mercury emissions when older vehicles are dismantled and electric arc furnaces are used.    Many states have already introduced and passed legislation requiring the removal of switches containing mercury before the vehicle can be scrapped. 

The only exception to the EPA’s notification rule are aftermarket replacement parts for anti-lock breaks and ride-control systems for vehicles manufactured before January 1, 2003 due to a lack of mercury-free alternatives. 

THE MERCURY ROADMAP – Also on July 5, the EPA released their report EPA’s Roadmap for Mercury, an outline of measures the agency plans to take in order to reduce mercury emissions.  Mercury use and release in the country has fallen over the past 25 years, and the report outlines what the EPA will focus on to continue the trend.  EPA will be addressing mercury releases in the environment, including usage in products and industrial processes which can lead to releases; managing commodity-grade mercury supplies; communicating risks to the public; addressing international mercury sources; and conducting mercury research and monitoring.    The EPA reports that it will:

• Implement new clean air rules
• Pursue voluntary initiatives in a number of industries
• Propose national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants at electric arc furnaces
• Implement the Clean Air Mercury Rule, which by 2018 should reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70% from a 1999 baseline.
• Require the use of a new analytical method that can detect low-level mercury discharges in water
• Work with other federal agencies on a way to dispose of surplus commodity-grade mercury supplies
• Work with international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector on how to best address global mercury pollution.

ON TO OTHER EMISSIONS – On July 6, EPA published a final rule that will reduce nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions by 850 tons per year from new stationary combustion turbines.  The standards will effect about 355 new turbines over the next 5 years, will have total annual costs of $3.4 million nationally after those 5 years, and include an alternative standard based on the heat input or energy consumed per unit of emissions.  The rule establishes 14 subcategories of turbines based on their energy consumption and established air pollutant limits based on both parts per million and pounds per megawatt/hour. 

EPA DISMISSED BY COURT OF APPEALS – On June 30, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied an EPA motion to rehear New York v. EPA case, in which the court ruled against the 2003 EPA rule that exempted routine maintenance projects at industrial plants from Clean Air Act new source review requirements.  The motion was rejected without comment, however when the ruling first came out, the court had said that the EPA’s rule would only be valid “in a Humpty Dumpty world.”

High Court makes first foray into Climate Change – On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a case concerning climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.  At issue in this case (Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. EPA, 05-1120) is the EPA decision in 2003 to not regulate CO2 emissions from motor vehicles because carbon dioxide is not considered a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.  States petitioning for the Supreme Court to hear the case included California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.  The case is scheduled to be a part of the Supreme Court’s fall term which begins in October.

Short Takes:

More Clean Air Legal Action Pending – On June 26, North Carolina filed suit against the EPA over their denial in March of the state’s Section 126 petition to reduce air  pollution from power plant in 13 upwind states.  NC has also filed a petition with EPA for reconsideration of the denial.

DRaft SAFETEA-LU Guidance Forth Coming – Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials have begun circulating a pre-publican draft of “SAFETEA-LU Environmental Review Process Proposed Guidance”.  Drafted by FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the 40-page draft guidance provides additional information on implementing Section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).  While it has yet to be published in the Federal Register for comment, the draft guidance has been distributed to FHWA division offices and they have been directed to begin using it.

EPA ISSUES NEW STationary Diesel Emission Requirements – On June 29, 2006, EPA announced new requirements aimed at limiting air emissions from new stationary diesel engines by up to 90 percent.  Implementation will be in three stages starting in 2007 and taking full effect in 2015.  In addition to reducing air emission (nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons) the standards limit the amount of sulfur in the diesel fuel used to run these engines.  For more information on this action, visit: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/ci_nsps_fnl_fs.html