On September 4, 2018, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft guidance that would change the interpretation of “adjacency” used as a factor in determining whether to combine nearby stationary sources for the Clean Air Act New Source Review (NSR) permitting and Title V Source Determinates in All Industries other than oil and gas.[1] The New Source Review is a Clean Air Act program that requires industrial facilities to install modern pollution control equipment when they are building or when making a change that increases emissions significantly.[2] The Title V Operating Permit program requires major sources of air pollutants and certain other sources to obtain an operating permit and operate in compliance and certify at least annually their compliance with permit requirements. Permitting authorities use the following three factors to determine whether to combine facility emissions for permitting purposes:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) jointly developed the national program for greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for passenger cars and trucks (also known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE) in order to reduce CO2 and other GHG emissions, save families trillions in fuel costs, and reduce America’s dependence on oil through fuel economy improvements.
On August 2, 2018, former Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a proposed rulemaking, reversing the agreement among the Obama administration and major auto manufacturers that set the current standards. The proposed rule, the “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021 – 2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (SAFE Vehicles Rule)” was published on the Federal Register (FR) on August 24th, 2018. The amendments would freeze the standards in MY 2021 through 2025 at 37.0 mpg for average fuel efficiency requirement and set CO2 targets maintained at 240 grams/mile instead of continued decreases to 163 grams/mile.[1] The rule also “excludes air conditioning refrigerants and leakage, and nitrous oxide and methane GHGs from average performance calculations after model year 2020.” Comments were due into EPA October 26, 2018
NTAA Fact Sheet on SAFE Vehicle Rule
NTAA Comment Letter on SAFE Vehicle Rule
NTAA Tribal Template SAFE Vehicle Rule Letter
Informational Webinar on EPA’s SAFE Vehicles Rule Proposed hosted by NTAA on October 10, 2018
NTAA SAFE Webinar Presentation 10.10.18
California Air Resources Board Presentation 10.10.18