I know that despair is always more fashionable than optimism, but it is sometimes useful to remember that not everything is going to hell in a hand basket. Yesterday, EPA issued a press release announcing publication of its latest report on trends in air quality. The report, titled “Our Nation’s Air: Status and Trends Through 2008”, makes clear that, overall, air quality has gotten significantly better,… More
Tag Archives: Acid Rain
Multiple Pollutant Legislation Makes a Reappearance
Harking back to legislative efforts of a few years ago, Representative John McHugh (R-NY) yesterday introduced legislation that would require significant reductions in emissions of SO2 and NOx, and mercury from power plants. The highlights of the bill include the following:
- No later than two years from enactment, EPA must promulgate regulations requiring that powerplants:
- reduce SO2 emissions by 75% over the Phase II levels contained in the current CAA acid rain program
- reduce NOx emissions by 75% over 1997 levels
- Even aside from the above-described reductions,…
SO2 Allowance Prices Drop: Is There a Lesson Here?
The results of EPA’s annual auction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) allowances under the acid rain program provide empirical support for a proposition that the regulated community repeatedly advances – certainty is critical to the success of complex regulatory regimes. Prices for 2009 allowances fell from last year’s average of $380/ton to $70/ton, or more than 80%. Prices in the 7 year advance auction fell even more dramatically, from $136/ton in 2008 to $6.65/ton,… More