On Sept. 8, 2005, the Department of Defense’s Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) gave President George W. Bush a list of 20 major military installations that it had determined were no longer necessary for the nation’s defense. The president signed off on the list, and despite tepid opposition, it passed through the House of Representatives. By the end of the year, it was enacted, and a deadline was set: On or before Sept. 15, 2011, the 20 bases would shut their doors. 

When a military facility closes, the ripple effect is felt throughout the surrounding community:  Families lose their neighbors, businesses lose their customers and workers lose their jobs.  In a thriving city, a closure can be an adrenalin shot to the local economy as hundreds of acres of land are suddenly made available for municipal growth and expansion.  Read More.

The EPA is issuing final rules that cut emissions of mercury, particle pollution and other pollutants from Portland cement manufacturing. 

This action sets the nation’s first limits on mercury air emissions from existing cement kilns, strengthens the limits for new kilns, and sets emission limits that will reduce acid gases. This final action also limits particle pollution from new and existing kilns, and sets new-kiln limits for particle and smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

EPA estimates costs at $926 million to $950 million annually in 2013.  Another EPA analysis estimates emission reductions and costs will be lower, with costs projected to be $350 million annually.  Read More.

EPA is proposing to extend the compliance date by one year for certain facilities subject to recent amendments to the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule.  The agency is also announcing that certain facilities will not be eligible for the one year extension and will have to comply by the current date of November 10, 2010.
 
Last year, EPA amended the SPCC rule. Regulated facilities are required to amend and implement these changes as part of their overall SPCC plans. 
 
Types of facilities not eligible for proposed extension that must comply by November 10, 2010:
 
-Drilling, production or workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, or onshore facilities required to have and submit facility response plans (FRPs), due to the threats these facilities could pose of significant oil spills to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. 
 
Types of facilities that may be eligible for the proposed one year extension:
 
-Oil production, farms, electric utility plants, petroleum refining and related industries, chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, manufacturing facilities using and storing animal fats and vegetable oils, metal and other manufacturing, real estate rental and leasing, retail trade, contract construction, wholesale trade, other commercial, transportation, arts entertainment & recreation, other services (except public administration), petroleum bulk stations and terminals, education, hospitals & other health care, accommodation and food services, fuel oil dealers, gasoline stations, information finance and insurance, mining, warehousing and storage, religious organizations, military installations, and government facilities. 
 
The proposed rule would: (i) extend the date by which the owners or operators of certain facilities must prepare or amend and implement an SPCC plan by one year to November 10, 2011; (ii) delay the compliance date for facilities with milk containers that are constructed according to the current applicable 3-A sanitary standards, and subject to the current applicable grade “A” pasteurized milk ordinance (PMO) or a state dairy regulatory requirement equivalent to the current applicable PMO until one year after EPA finalizes a rule for these facilities; (iii) maintain the current November 10, 2010 compliance date for drilling, production and workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, and for onshore facilities required to have and submit FRPs; (iv) and reconcile the proposed compliance dates for new production facilities.
 
The proposed amendments do not remove the regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002 (other than facilities with milk containers described above), to maintain and continue implementing an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. 

EPA is seeking comment on whether a shorter extension period (6 to 9 months) is warranted for facilities rather than the proposed one year extension. 
 
The public has the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule during a 15-day period following its publication in the Federal Register.  Read More.

EPA will hold two public listening sessions on potential changes to the water quality standards regulation before proposing a national rule. The current regulation, which has been in place since 1983, governs how states and authorized tribes adopt standards needed under the Clean Water Act to protect the quality of rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries. Potential revisions include strengthening protection for water bodies with water quality that already exceeds or meets the interim goals of the Clean Water Act; improving transparency of regulatory decisions; and strengthening federal oversight. 
  
The public listening sessions will be held via audio teleconferences on August 24 and 26, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT. At the sessions, EPA will provide a review of the current regulation and a summary of the revisions the agency is considering. Clarifying questions and brief oral comments (three minutes or less) from the public will be accepted at the sessions, as time permits. EPA will consider the comments received as it develops the proposed rulemaking.
 
EPA will also hold separate listening sessions for state, tribal and local governments.
 
EPA expects to publish the proposed revisions to the water quality standards regulation in summer 2011.   Read More.

EPA is proposing regulations targeting power plant pollution that drifts across the borders of 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia.  The new proposal is called the transport rule. 
 
The transport rule would reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to meet state-by-state emission reductions.  EPA contends that by 2014, the rule and other state and EPA actions would reduce SO2 emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels and NOx emissions would drop by 52 percent. 
 
EPA is using the “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act to reduce interstate transport of pollutants.  The proposed rule sets in place a new approach that will be applied again as EPA deems further pollution reductions are needed. 
  
EPA estimates the annual cost of compliance with the proposed new rule at $2.8 billion. 
 
The proposal would replace the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered EPA to revise in 2008. The court allowed CAIR to remain in place temporarily while EPA worked to finalize the replacement rule proposed today.
 
EPA will take public comment on the proposal for 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The agency also will hold public hearings.  Dates and locations for the hearings will be announced shortly.  Read More.