Contact: Tom Mather (919) 715-7408
Date: March 9, 2000 Distribution: Statewide
State Environmental Panel Moves Forward On Ozone-Control Rules
RALEIGH - Governor Jim Hunt's Clean Air Plan for controlling ozone pollution moved forward today as a state environmental panel voted to hold public hearings on proposed rules for curbing emissions from power plants, despite uncertainties resulting from a recent federal court ruling on air quality regulations.
The N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) voted to conduct hearings on the Governor's Plan and two alternative proposals for reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides from coal-fired electric power plants, while indicating that it could modify the proposals before publishing public notices on the hearings. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the key cause of ozone, which is the major component of urban smog.
The EMC plans to conduct the hearings across the state in late spring or early summer, but has not set specific dates or locations yet. The commission wants to delay formally noticing the hearings until it learns more about the implications of a recent federal court decision that ruled in favor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mandate for controlling ozone-forming industrial emissions.
Meanwhile, the EMC's staff in the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will consider whether it needs to develop a new proposal that takes into account the federal ruling, for the commission to consider at its April 13 meeting. State attorneys also will be deciding whether to appeal the federal court decision.
Gov. Hunt proposed his Clean Air Plan to help protect North Carolina's environment and public health from ozone. In July, the General Assembly enacted a major portion of the plan by passing legislation for reducing emissions from motor vehicles, including measures for expanding the auto emissions testing program and requiring low-sulfur gasoline. The EMC must approve the next step, which calls for substantial reductions in power plant emissions.
The proposed rules would require utilities to reduce their NOx emissions by about 50 percent between 2000 and 2007. Environmental groups have proposed a plan that would cut NOx emissions by about 70 percent, while utility companies have proposed a 25-percent cut.
Monitoring by the state shows that ozone levels exceed the standard across much of North Carolina. Ozone is a highly reactive form of oxygen that is unhealthy to breathe and can damage trees and crops. Motor vehicles and power plants are the major sources of ozone-forming pollution in North Carolina. More information about ozone and other air quality issues can be found at the N.C. Division of Air Quality s web site, http://daq.state.nc.us/.
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