|
|
| Environment |
Air Quality UpdateFebruary 25, 2002
Washington Region Votes for Clean Air MeasuresWashington transportation officials had been expected last week to delay the selection of a number of emissions reduction measures. However, an eleventh hour pledge of financial support from the State of Maryland--arriving via fax just before the board's Wednesday meeting--prompted a unanimous vote in favor of moving ahead with a host of clean air measures. A high-level Maryland transportation official had cautioned against the suite of control measures as late as Tuesday and also recommended a new round of more focused study. Area officials at that point seemed resigned to taking a closer look at the extent of mobile sources pollution and using more refined technical tools and computer models to generate more accurate projections and inventories. The letter of support from Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening appeared to stun board members as well as public participants since the issue over clean air measures had forced the panel into a stalemate for the last six months. The governor's letter seemed to condemn the potential for postponing emissions reduction efforts claiming such a delay "would clearly contradict the region's efforts to improve air quality." Professional staff with the Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the regional body representing the Washington, D.C. area, had developed a menu of proposed transportation control measures after last summer's troubling emissions projections prompted conformity and attainment worries. Possible measures include replacing taxicabs and diesel buses with clean fuel vehicles, replacing heavy-duty diesel engines on targeted trucks, and the implementation of other programs that encourage walking, bicycling, and transit use. The cost of these transportation measures was projected at $38 million, although the board will not decide which measures to adopt or the shares each jurisdiction will pay for at least another month. Environmental advocacy groups in the region had charged earlier in the week that the high price tag associated with the measures prompted the call for a delay, not the need to gather more data. Using more timely transportation data, area planners found last summer that motor vehicle emissions would exceed the limits already approved for 2005 in the State Implementation Plan for air quality. The likely sources of the looming problem were the substantial growth in sport utility vehicles and the increase in average trip distance, especially in the high-growth outer suburbs. Bay Area Mobile Budget Found AdequateEnding a fairly short lapse in its transportation conformity, the San Francisco Bay Area had its mobile sources emissions budget determined adequate by EPA earlier this month. The adequacy determination is effective March 8. The agency's decision means that the motor vehicle emissions budget developed by State officials is good enough to support attainment of the ozone standard in the Bay Area. Environmental, medical, and community action groups have responded to the EPA decision with great concern. A local member of the Sierra Club complained that the EPA failed to protect downwind eastern Bay Area communities through the adequacy determination and instead placated a number of special interests. Environmental advocates have voiced displeasure with recent EPA decisions that they say appear to ignore the plight of eastern communities in the Central Valley where much of Bay Areas pollution drifts downwind. Some estimates report that more than 22 percent of the valley's air pollution is transported from the Bay Area. As part of its decision, EPA responded to a number of comments submitted by environmental advocacy groups and other California air districts. The notice was published in the Federal Register February 21. Conformity determinations on the area's transportation plan and program can resume on the effective date of the notice and budget, March 8. New Program Highlights Voluntary Greenhouse Gas ReductionsChampioning the benefits of voluntary measures, the EPA has launched a new program to support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Agency Administrator Christie Whitman unveiled "Climate Leaders" last week, an initiative viewed as a critical component of the administration's new policy. Described as a voluntary partnership between government and industry, the EPA administrator noted that the new program would fit nicely with the overall strategy of voluntary reductions. Whitman also pointed out in announcing the program that eleven companies have joined Climate Leaders as Charter Partners, including General Motors, Bethlehem Steel, Lockheed Martin, and Miller Brewing. The charter members have committed to complete a company-wide greenhouse gas inventory of six principal gases and then to work with EPA in developing an emissions reduction plan. The Climate Leaders program is expected to support the administration's focus on reducing the amount of these greenhouse gas emissions generated for each unit of economic activity, dubbed by the new strategy as "greenhouse gas intensity." |
