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FROM EPA NEWSROOM

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Terri Thompson

EPA Proposes to Defer Biogenic CO2 from GHG Permitting Requirements and Issues Guidance for Bioenergy BACT (March 14, 2011)
Pursuant to its announcement earlier this year, EPA proposed to defer carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic stationary sources from Clean Air Act permitting requirements. The proposal would defer permitting requirements under the Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V programs for three years while the agency conducts a “detailed examination of the science” associated with CO2 emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources. EPA will accept comments on the proposal for 45 days after publication in the Federal Register. In a related action, the agency issued “Guidance for Determining Best Available Control Technology for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Bioenergy Production.” The guidance is intended to assist permitting authorities in determinations regarding the use of biomass fuel as Best Available Control Technology until EPA takes final action on the proposed deferral. Click here for further information.

EPA Releases 2005 NATA Data to the Public (March 11, 2011)
EPA has released the 2005 National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) data, making it available to the public on the agency’s website. NATA uses emissions inventory data and modeling to estimate exposure and risk related to emissions into the air of 177 hazardous air pollutants and diesel particulate matter (PM). The risks are presented as both cancer and non-cancer risks (diesel PM is assessed for non-cancer health effects only). This most recent NATA release shows, among other things, that out of 66,000 census tracts across the country, 3,100 had cancer risks above 100 in a million. Nationwide, almost 45 percent of cancer risk was associated with exposure to formaldehyde and 15 percent to benzene. Seventy-five percent of the non-cancer risk was associated with exposure to acrolein.

Link to EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/