It Hurts Public Health, Helps Big Polluters, Worsens Global Warming

The Bush administration’s air pollution plan would weaken public health protections of the current Clean Air Act. The administration plan would hurt public health and help big polluters by delaying and diluting cuts in power plants’ sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollution compared to timely enforcement of current law. The administration plan would roll back the current law’s public health safeguards to protect local air quality, curb pollution from upwind states, and restore visibility in our national parks. The administration plan would do nothing to curb power plants’ growing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming.

The Administration Plan Repeals, Weakens, and Delays Clean Air Act Safeguards

Weakens Protection from Dangerous Soot and Smog

Current Clean Air Act:  Dangerous levels of soot and smog are causing thousands of premature deaths, millions of asthma attacks, and other illnesses each year.  The Environmental Protection Agency and states must clean up dangerous soot and smog and provide most citizens with air that meets public health standards by 2010.  Current law requires deep reductions in power plants’ sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions within this decade in order to meet these public health standards. In September 2001, EPA told the industry’s main lobby group, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), that existing law would cut power plants’ soot-forming SO₂ pollution from 11 million tons today to 2 million tons by 2012, and cut their smog-forming NO_x pollution from 5 million tons today to 1.25 million tons by 2010 (see notes and table).

Administration plan:  Delays deadlines for meeting public health standards, allowing violations of soot and smog health standards to continue until 2015 or later. Power plant pollution cuts are delayed and diluted. Tens of millions of people are denied healthy air, even as late as 2020 and beyond.

Ø         The administration plan allows more than twice as much SO₂ for nearly a decade longer (2010-2018), compared with faithful enforcement of the current Clean Air Act.  After 2018, SO₂ emissions will still be one and a half times higher than if current law is enforced. 

Ø         The administration plan allows more than one and a half times as much NO_x for nearly a decade longer (2010-2018), and one third more NO_x even after 2018.   

Ø         The full pollution reductions are likely to be further delayed, to as late as 2025, because of emissions “banking” provisions.

Weakens Protection from Toxic Mercury

Current Clean Air Act:  Power plants are the largest uncontrolled source of mercury, a neurological toxin which threatens the health of developing fetuses, children, and other vulnerable populations.  Each power plant must install the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) for mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by the end of 2007, and then further limit any unacceptable health risks that remain. EPA told EEI in December 2001 that enforcing current law could cut power plant mercury pollution by nearly 90 percent, from 48 tons today to about 5 tons, by 2008.   

Administration plan:  Eliminates current law’s health protections for mercury and other toxic air pollutants.  Mercury reductions are delayed and diluted.  The administration plan lets power plants emit more than five times as much mercury for a decade longer (2010-2018), and three times as much after 2018. EPA data show that more than one hundred power plants may actually increase mercury emissions, and that parts of New England, the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast regions, and other areas will receive only very small reductions in mercury deposition - and may even suffer increases. 

Repeals Safeguards for Local Air Quality 

Current Clean Air Act:  Requires new power plants to install state-of-the-art pollution controls, and requires older “grandfathered” plants to install modern pollution controls when rebuilt or expanded in ways that increase their pollution output.  In areas with dirty air, new or expanded plants must offset their pollution increases. 

Administration plan:  Effectively repeals these current air quality safeguards.  Exemptions are not limited to power plants, but are available to plants in any industry sector.   

Hamstrings Safeguards for Downwind States

Current Clean Air Act:  When power plants in upwind states cause violations of air pollution health standards in downwind states, the downwind states can force those plants to cut their pollution.  

Administration plan:  Effectively repeals this “state rights” provision.  The Bush plan prohibits downwind states from pursuing any pollution reductions from power plants in upwind states before 2012.  The administration bill increases the burden of proof after 2012, making nearly impossible to prove that upwind power plants are causing downwind pollution.    

Weakens Safeguards for National Parks

Current Clean Air Act:  Existing power plants must install modern pollution control equipment to curb the haze they cause in national parks and wilderness areas. Major new industrial sources, including power plants, must not degrade air quality in those areas.

Administration plan:  Repeals the haze cleanup requirements for existing sources.  Allows new power plants and other industrial sources to disregard any adverse air quality impacts they have on national parks or wildernesses, so long as they are built more than 30 miles away from park boundaries.

The Administration Plan Worsens Global Warming

Power plants are the largest source of U.S. global warming pollution, responsible for 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The earth’s climate is rapidly changing due to the buildup of CO₂ and other heat-trapping pollution. Ignoring power plants’ carbon emissions will lead to more global warming and higher costs.  An integrated four-pollutant bill, with mandatory limits on CO₂, would start curbing this monumental hazard to our health and our environment and, at the same time, save billions of dollars. 

Administration plan:  Allows power plant CO₂ pollution to continue to increase, relying instead on voluntary approaches, long proven to be ineffective. The administration plan would allow another generation of investments in power plants with excessive carbon dioxide emissions – dramatically increasing future costs for utilities and their customers when the need to curb these emissions is finally recognized.

 The EPA September 2001 and December 2001 analyses referenced above can be found at http://cta.policy.net/currentstatus.pdf and http://cta.policy.net/epamercury.pdf .

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Comparison of Bush administration air pollution plan with existing Clean Air Act programs

	Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)	Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)	Mercury (Hg)
Clean Air Act (implementation of existing law)[1]	2 million ton cap by 2012[2]	1.25 million ton cap by 2010[3]	5 tons per year by 2008[4]
Bush Administration Air Pollution Plan	1st Step 4.5 million ton cap by 2010   2nd Step 3 million ton cap by 2018	1st Step 2.1 million ton cap by 2008   2nd Step 1.7 million ton cap by 2018	1st Step 26 tons per year by 2010   2nd Step 15 tons per year by 2018
Increase allowed by Bush Plan over Clean Air Act existing programs	2010-2018 2.5 million tons/yr more SO2   after 2018 1 million tons/yr more SO2	2010-2018 850,000 tons/yr more NOx   after 2018 450,000 tons/yr more NOx	2010-2018 21 tons/yr more mercury   after 2018 10 tons/yr more mercury
% Increase allowed by Bush Plan over Clean Air Act existing programs.	2010-2018 225% as much SO2   after 2018 150% as much SO2	2010-2018 168% as much NOx   after 2018 136% as much NOx	2010-2018 520% as much mercury   after 2018 300% as much mercury
Delay allowed by Bush Plan over Clean Air Act existing programs	Up to 6 year delay	Up to 8 year delay	Up to 10 year delay