EPA Opens Public Comment on Secondary Air Standards for Nitrogen and Sulfur Oxides/ Agency announces pilot field study on environmental impacts (HQ)
WASHINGTON – After a careful review of the best available science,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
secondary air quality standards to protect the environment from
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). Today’s
proposal builds on EPA efforts already underway to reduce NOx and
SOx emissions.
EPA has made significant progress in developing a multi-pollutant
standard that would protect vulnerable ecosystems, including
streams and lakes. To ensure any updated standard is effective, EPA
is planning to conduct a field pilot program to collect and analyze
additional data and information.
In the meantime, EPA is proposing to set an additional secondary
standard for each pollutant. The new standards would be identical
to the public health standards that the agency strengthened last
year. These standards reduce the amount of NOx and SOx in the air
and the harmful effects that the pollutants have on sensitive lakes
and streams. EPA is also proposing to retain the existing secondary
standards for each pollutant.
EPA is already taking a number of steps to reduce NOx and SOx
emissions, including the recently announced Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule. This new rule will cut millions of tons of these
pollutants from power plants each year.
Nitrogen oxides are emitted from an array of sources, including
vehicles, power plants, off-road equipment, and agricultural
sources. Sulfur oxides are emitted from fossil fuel combustion by
power plants, large industries, and mobile sources, and from some
industrial processes.
EPA will accept comments for 60 days after the proposed rule is
published in the Federal Register and will issue a final rule by
March 2012.
More information: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/air-topics