Federal regulations and impact on emissions

This chapter is on federal legislation and regulatory trends in the United States and their impact on air quality and emissions. A history of legislative action in the United States as it pertains to stationary heat and power plants utilizing fossil fuels is presented. Impending legislation of emissions currently not regulated is also discussed. The types and quantities of emissions are presented along with their trends over time as a consequence of legislative action.

Keywords

Air pollution; air quality; emissions regulation; fossil fuel power plants; emission standards

The emphasis of this chapter is on federal legislation and regulatory trends in the United States and their impact on air quality and emissions. A history of legislative action in the United States as it pertains to stationary heat and power plants utilizing fossil fuels is presented. Impending legislation of emissions currently not regulated is also discussed. The types and quantities of emissions are presented along with their trends over time as a consequence of legislative action.

2.1 History of legislative action for fossil fuel-fired stationary heat and power plants

In the United States, industrial-based cities, such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Louisville, had significant air pollution problems by the late 1800s because of the amount and types of fuels used in each area [1]. Cities in the eastern U.S., such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, primarily used anthracite from eastern Pennsylvania while cities in the Midwest predominately used high sulfur bituminous coal. Early efforts to control air pollution led to court challenges before judges who were not sympathetic to efforts to abate air pollution because the judiciary embraced the concept that the fledgling economy could expand only if the business community was protected from ordinances and lawsuits by those who were injured. During World War I, air pollution control efforts were inconsequential and the war-generated economic expansion led to increased air pollution emissions. World War I was followed by the Great Depression, which prevented the placement of additional economic burdens on the private sector. During World War II, the national need for war-oriented production and the lack of money for domestic programs prevented implementation of air pollution control programs. During the period following the Second World War, many cities started enacting air pollution ordinances, which began to be upheld by the courts [1]. One of the most successful efforts at air pollution abatement was the clean-up of Pittsburgh air in the late 1940s. A major air pollution incident in Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948 was also a catalyst in cleaning up the Pittsburgh-area air and in the passage of air pollution legislation.

Donora, which is located south of Pittsburgh in the Monongahela Valley, was a town of approximately 26,000 people in the 1940s and home to a steel mill and zinc works [2]. The inhabitants were accustomed to dreary days, dirty buildings, and barren ground where no vegetation would grow, but they ignored the effect that the steel and zinc mills had on the population and environment, as about two-thirds of the workers were employed in the steel and zinc mills. This continued until the “killer smog” of October 1948. Nearly half of the town’s inhabitants were sick by the end of the second day of the thick smog, 20 people died in three days, 50 more deaths than would be expected from other causes occurred in the month following the episode, and many people experienced breathing difficulties for the rest of their lives [2]. It was discovered later that the cause for many of the fatalities was not sulfur dioxide from firing coal in the steel and zinc mills, as initially thought and often reported [3], but was fluoride poisoning from the fluorspar used in the zinc mill [2]. Regardless of the cause, this episode brought increased public awareness towards air pollution and helped in the passage of air pollution laws.

The major development of air pollution legislative and regulatory acts occurred from 1955 to 1970; however, the early acts were narrow in scope as the U.S. Congress was hesitant to grant the federal government a high degree of control since air pollution problems were viewed as local or regional. This was found to be impractical, since some states were hesitant to regulate industry, and atmospheric transport of pollutants is not bounded by geographic lines. By the mid-1970s, the basis for national regulation of air pollution was developed and the actual regulations are continually changing. Regulations on emissions from power plants essentially started in 1970 with the passing of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. There were a few regulatory changes in the 1980s but the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 resulted in significant regulatory changes. From 1992 through 2008 various NOx regulations and trading programs were established. In 2004 stationary combustion turbine NESHAP (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) regulations went into effect. Interstate transport of emissions was addressed through the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) in 2005 and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) in 2011/2014. Boiler MACT (maximum achievable control technology) rules were published in 2011 and later amended in 2013 to specifically address smaller boilers and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators that were considered major sources of air toxics. In 2012, PM2.5 (i.e. fine particulate) emissions (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) standards became more stringent and the Utility MACT rule, i.e. MATS (Mercury & Air Toxics Standards), was finalized. Many of the regulations focus on utility power plants because they are a concentrated source of emissions and, for some pollutants, a significant source. In addition, legislation for controlling carbon dioxide is currently (as of 2014) being proposed. These are discussed in detail in the following sections. Figure 2.1 is a summarized timeline of recent key regulatory EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) actions addressing air emissions [modified from 4]. Of these, the GHG emissions actions are the most unknown at the present time.

2.1.1 Pre-1970 federal legislation

The history of federally enacted air pollution legislation begins in 1955 with the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. The act was narrow in scope because of the federal government’s hesitation to encroach on states’ rights; however, it was the first step toward identifying air pollution sources and its effects, and setting the groundwork for effective legislation and enforcement by regulatory agencies that was developed over the next 15 years. The act initiated the following [5]:

The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was amended in 1960 and 1962 (i.e. Air Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1960 and 1962) because of worsening conditions in urban areas due to mobile sources. Through these acts, Congress directed the Surgeon General to study the effect of motor vehicle exhausts on human health. A more formal process for the continual review of the motor vehicle pollution problem was included in the Clean Air Act of 1963.

The Clean Air Act of 1963 provided, for the first time, federal financial aid for air pollution research and technical assistance [5]. The act encouraged state, regional, and local programs for the control and abatement of air pollution, while reserving federal authority to intervene in interstate conflicts, thereby preserving the classical three-tier system of government. The act provided for [5]:

The Clean Air Act of 1963 also provided for research authority to develop standards for sulfur removal from fuels, and a formal process for reviewing the status of the motor vehicle pollution problem. This in turn led to the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act of 1965, which formally recognized the technical and economic feasibility of setting automotive emission standards. The act also gave the secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) the authority to intervene in intrastate air pollution problems of “substantial significance.”

2.1.1.1 National air quality control act of 1967

The first federal legislation to impact stationary combustion sources was the National Air Quality Control Act of 1967. The act provided for a two-year study on the concept of national emissions standards for...