EPA Wants to Hear from You

On April 29, 2010, EPA proposed a set of regulatory proposals under the Clean Air Act that address emissions from 200,000 boilers and incinerators across the U.S., including boilers that burn wood to product electricity like the "Biomass Energy Plant" proposed by ADAGE.

The EPA says these new regulations are needed in order to "significantly cut emissions of pollutants that are of particular concern for children."

• The EPA estimates that the proposed rules will yield more than 5 dollars in public health benefits for every dollar spent. When fully implemented, today's proposal would yield combined health benefits estimated at $18 to $44 billion annually and would prevent between 2,000 and 5,200 premature deaths every year.
• Large boilers and all incinerators would be required to meet emissions limits for dangerous pollutants including mercury, lead, cadmium, dioxin, furans, formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid.
• Facilities with boilers would also be required to conduct energy audits to find cost effective ways to reduce fuel use and emissions.

"Strong cuts to mercury and other harmful emissions will have real benefits for our health and our environment, spur clean technology innovations and save American communities billions of dollars in avoided health costs," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "This is a cost-effective, commonsense way to protect our health and the health of our children, and get America moving into the clean economy of the future."

The EPA is accepting written comments on these proposed rules which must be postmarked before August 3, 2010.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS:

1. Review the proposed rules and write your comments and any data you wish to submit to the EPA.
2. Identify your comments by Docket ID number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0058 - Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters located at major sources OR EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0790 - Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters located at area sources
3. www.regulations.gov - submit your comments online
   OR email a-and-r-docket@epa.gov
   OR fax to 202.566.9744
    
   OR mail TWO COPIES of your comments to:
   
4. EPA Docket Center (6102T)
   Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0790
   1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
   Washington, DC 20460

We only have until August 3, 2010 to make our voice heard. Please share this information with as many people as possible.

Documents:

• PDF version of this page to print and share
• Sample letter to the EPA (simple text file format can be read by any Word Processing Software). Print and sign, or edit it with your own comments.

For more info, check out these Links:

• EPA Web Site for the Proposed Rule Change
• EPA News Release about proposed rule change
• EPA Fact Sheets on the Rule Changes
• New York Times Article - Biomass Industry Sees Chilling Message in EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule
• Article in Industry publication - EPA releases proposed MACT rule changes

Duke Energy is listed at number 17 on the Toxic 100 Index

The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) from the University of Massachusetts compiles an annual list of the top US polluters. This year Duke Energy is listed at number 17, and is reported to emit more than 75 million tons of pollutants annually.

The following Youtube video is an interview with the director of PERI and has interesting information about the role of the EPA in monitoring, reporting and protecting the health of US citizens. This video helps explain why it is so important that we submit comments to the EPA supporting their proposal to tighten regulations on biomass incinerator emissions.