Clean Air Act

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed tighter controls for dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions, winning the support of Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a dangerous air pollutant that can travel long distances and results when sulfur-containing fuels such as coal, oil or diesel are burned. Each year, manmade sources emit more than 14 million tons of sulfur dioxide nationwide

“Current federal standards simply fail to protect public health,” said Sen. Carper. “I have long supported tighter SO2 controls that protect Americans with lung diseases like asthma, and especially children and older adults.”    » read more »

11/06/2009 -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new information on EPA and state enforcement of hazardous waste and air regulations. In addition, the EPA posted data that allows the public, for the first time, to compare toxic releases with compliance data from facilities. This is part of EPA’s ongoing commitment to increase transparency and promote the public’s right to know by improving access to available data.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- BASF Corporation has agreed, under a Clean Air Act settlement filed today in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, to reduce the use of refrigerant chemicals that destroy the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.

The company will spend more than an estimated $250,000 to retrofit one refrigeration unit that currently uses such chemicals, replacing them with environmentally-friendly alternatives, and will either retrofit or retire two other units. BASF will also pay a civil penalty of $384,200 to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Mosaic Fertilizer will spend approximately $30 million on air pollution controls that are expected to eliminate harmful emissions from its sulfuric acid production plant in Uncle Sam, La., the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced. The company will also pay a civil penalty of $2.4 million to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations.    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- “The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that greenhouse gas emissions pose a real threat to public health and safety, and has proposed a carefully targeted plan to regulate large industrial and commercial facilities under the Clean Air Act.

I fully support EPA’s actions to require that the nation’s largest stationary emitters, responsible for roughly 70 percent of America’s carbon footprint, take appropriate steps to contain these harmful emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Those who recognize that the Earth is in jeopardy, that global warming is real and that the climate is warming more quickly than anticipated, understand the urgent need to take action. We cannot lose time.    » read more »

10/01/2009 -- At the Port of Long Beach, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to announce that over $26.5 million in clean-air grants have been awarded to Southern California as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) to date.

Helping California speed its efforts to promote clean vehicles and green job growth – this funding will be used to retrofit and replace diesel engines in construction vehicles, cargo handling equipment, school buses, heavy-duty trucks and locomotives in the Southern California air basin, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.    » read more »

September 30, 2009 -- Senators Bernie Sanders, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and eight supporters kicked off the global warming debate in the Senate Wednesday with a rally releasing their comprehensive climate bill.

"Countries around the world have asked ‘Where is the United States of America in helping us lead the fight against global warming?' Today, we are back. And we are going to lead the offensive," Sen. Sanders said at an event to roll out major climate change legislation. "We are going to make this bill stronger. People are going to say ‘Thank you America for taking us in a new direction.'"    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Delaware Senator Tom Carper, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Power, issued the following statement today on the confirmation of Regina McCarthy to be the Assistant Administrator For Clean Air at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who was approved by the Senate today:

“Gina McCarthy takes office not long after every major Bush Administration clean air regulation has been thrown out by the courts. As a result, the EPA must now write several new major clean air regulations in a short amount of time.    » read more »

May 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The United States has filed a civil complaint against PowerTrain Inc., Wood Sales Co. Inc., and Tool Mart Inc., all based in Golden, Miss., alleging that they imported and sold more than 78,000 Chinese-made engines that do not meet federal air pollution standards, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that imported non-road engines and equipment comply with the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards. The filing marks the first federal court action enforcing the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards for portable generators, water pumps and other "non-handheld equipment."    » read more »

Statement by Francesca Grifo, Union of Concerned Scientists

May 21, 2009 -- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson today announced the agency is reversing controversial changes to how science is used to set air pollution standards.

The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for harmful pollutants using the best available science. For decades, EPA staff scientists worked with the independent Clean Air Science Advisory Committee to review the latest studies and recommend appropriate standards.    » read more »

May 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the following today:

“The Administration’s anticipated announcement for joint EPA-DOT regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy contains two important elements that I have been fighting for over many years. First, it will establish a single national standard that will provide predictability and certainty for the auto companies in meeting regulations, which the industry apparently believes it can achieve over a realistic timeframe.    » read more »

April 22, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—Today's House Energy & Commerce hearings on the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy Jobs Plan, officially called the American Clean Energy & Security Act, heard testimony from administration officials, business and enviromental leaders, and other experts. As expected, dirty energy's defenders on the committee proved their willingness to say just about anything to try and derail this clean energy jobs plan, including long-discredited attacks on the science of global warming and the economic impacts of clean energy legislation.    » read more »

April 20, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—DuPont and Lucite International Inc. have agreed to pay a $2 million civil penalty to settle Clean Air Act violations at a sulfuric acid plant in Belle, W. Va., the Justice Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of West Virginia announced today.    » read more »

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 17, 2009) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued the following statement today after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced a proposal confirming the threat of greenhouse gases to the environment:

“We applaud EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's proposal today confirming the science-proven threat that greenhouse gases pose to our people and our environment, as well as President Obama's pledge to find solutions that create jobs and help our country become energy independent. We are glad to see the EPA is back on the job protecting our air, land, and water and enforcing environmental laws.    » read more »

April 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—Six energy companies, in three settlements, have agreed to install pollution control equipment at a cost of over $6 million to comply with the Clean Air Act at their natural gas producing facilities in the Uinta Basin, near Vernal, Utah, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The facilities are located on the Uintah & Ouray Indian Reservation.    » read more »