Pennsylvania environmental regulators are rolling out draft rules for controlling air pollution from the state’s thousands of existing oil and gas wells but the long-awaited measures have a shaky federal foundation according to a December 12, 2018 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report. On December 13, 2018 the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) posted proposed rules for […]

Eastern states on track to attain 2008 ozone standards based on continued air quality progress. In a December 6 2018 news release the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledged the progress states have made reducing ozone concentrations. EPA stated, “Based on EPA air quality projections, the Agency has determined that the 2016 Cross State Air […]

The Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI ozone nonattainment area failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the attainment date of July 20, 2018. The area, which is currently classified as “Moderate” for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, will automatically be bumped-up to a “Serious” classification upon the effective date of the final reclassification notice according to a November […]

On December 14, 2019 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced it is extending its deadline for submission of applications under the New Technology Implementation Grant (NTIG) program from Friday, December 14, 2018, to 5:00pm, Monday, January 14, 2019. Up to $3.6 million dollars in grants are available for projects that reduce air pollutants from […]

EPA is considering a redefinition of “ambient air” according to a November 2018 E&E News report. Currently defined by EPA as “that portion of the atmosphere, to which the general public has access,” ambient air’s definition exempts outdoor areas over land that’s owned or controlled by a pollution source, to which “public access is precluded […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has released formal guidance on the process for existing major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) to reclassify their site as an area source of HAP emissions according to a December 18, 2018 Trinity Consultants report. This guidance is a result of EPA’s January 25, 2018 memo rescinding […]

On November 20, 2018 the Ohio EPA announced it is requesting early stakeholder input until December 19, 2018 on potential rules that would cover air pollution emissions from existing non-conventional oil and gas facilities that are not currently covered by Ohio EPA’s most recent general permit. The rules would cover similar equipment and requirements that […]

In a November 14, 2018 Federal Register Notice the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed three actions related to the attainment date for 11 areas classified as ‘‘Moderate’’ for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). First, the agency is proposing to determine that two areas—the Baltimore, Maryland, and Mariposa County, California, nonattainment […]

On November 8, 2015 EPA posted its final implementation rule for the 2015 ozone standard on its website the day after it was signed by Andrew Wheeler according to a November 15, 2018 Mondaq report. The final rule, like the proposed rule published in November 2016, retains many of the provisions from the implementation rule […]

In a unanimous vote on November 15, 2018, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) approved the Cleaner Air Oregon (CAO) Rules codified in Oregon Administrative Rules 340-245 according to a November Trinity Consultants report. The Oregon rulemaking process and program overhaul began in April 2016, with the first draft rule published in October 2017. The […]