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Environmental Justice (EJ) and Rulemaking Information
To address Executive Order 12898 and the Agency’s EJ Policy, EPA is looking at environmental justice (EJ) implications of its rulemakings.
Below is a list of recently signed proposed rules that may be of special interest to communities. You can find more information about each rule by clicking the rule title.
March 16, 2011 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed standards to limit mercury, acid gases and other toxic pollution from power plants. For more information on these standards, please visit www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics or www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/utility/utilitypg.html.
Outreach Activities - EPA hosted a webinar for communities on May 2, 2011. Presentation Materials (PDF) (29pp, 697k)
Combustion Rules: On June 4, 2010, EPA published four proposed rules that may be of special interest to communities. These proposals would limit emissions from combustion sources and includes two rules effecting large and small boilers and process heaters and one rule effecting units that burn solid waste. EPA also proposed the Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials that are Solid Waste rule. We proposed these rules together because the sources are closely related, and we are taking public comments on all three of them at the same time. The public comment period for the definition of solid waste for non-hazardous secondary materials ended August 3, 2010. Final rules are anticipated by December 16, 2010.
- Rule Name: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters (ICIB) (Major Sources)
Summary: EPA is proposing regulations to reduce air emissions from boilers and process heaters located at major sources. Boilers and process heaters are in virtually every community. Boilers burn natural gas, coal, wood, oil, or other fuel to produce steam. Process heaters heat raw or intermediate materials during an industrial process. (More)
Status: December 7, 2010 EPA files motion for New Timetable for Reducing Pollution from Boilers and Incinerators; June 4, 2010 Proposed Rule published in Federal Register (75 FR 32006)(PDF)(68pp, 481k); Comment period extended to August 23, 2010 (75 FR 42676)
Outreach Activities: July 23, 2010, 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST Conference Call (PDF) (2pp, 46k) on Combustion Rules and Related Waste Definition; June 9, 2010 Combustion Rules Webinar; June 15, 2010, and June 22, 2010 Public Hearings.
Docket Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0058
- Rule Name: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers (ICIB) (Area sources)
Summary: EPA is proposing regulations to reduce air emissions from boilers located at area sources. Boilers are in virtually every community. Boilers burn coal and other substances such as oil or wood to produce steam or hot water. (More)
Status: June 4, 2010 Proposed Rule published in Federal Register (75 FR 31896) (PDF)(40pp, 361k); Comment period extended to August 23, 2010 (75 FR 42676)
Outreach Activities: July 23, 2010, 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST Conference Call (PDF)(2pp, 46k) on Combustion Rules and Related Waste Definition; June 9, 2010 Combustion Rules Webinar; June 15, 2010 and June 22, 2010 Public Hearings.
Docket Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0790
- Rule Name: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators (CISWI)
Summary: EPA is proposing regulations to reduce air emissions from commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators. The proposed rule regulates any device at a commercial or industrial facility that is used to combust solid waste. The proposed rule would reduce emissions of a number of toxic air pollutants, including mercury, other metals, and organic air toxics, which include dioxins.
Status: June 4, 2010 Proposed Rule published in Federal Register (75 FR 31938)(PDF)(67pp, 439k); Comment period extended to August 23, 2010 (75 FR 42676)
Outreach Activities: July 23, 2010, 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST Conference Call (PDF)(2pp, 46k) on Combustion Rules and Related Waste Definition; June 9, 2010 Combustion Rules Webinar; June 15, 2010 and June 22, 2010 Public Hearings.
Docket Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0119
Other actions:
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Rule Name: Air Transport Rule
Summary: On August 2, 2010, EPA proposed "Federal Implementation Plans To Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone" (Air Transport Rule). EPA is proposing to limit the interstate transport of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). EPA is proposing to limit these emissions through Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) that regulate electric generating units (EGUs) in the 32 states.
Status: August 2, 2010 Proposed Rule published in Federal Register (75 FR 45210) (256pp, 1.5MB); Comment period ends October 1, 2010
Outreach Activities: August 19, 2010, August 26, 2010 and September 1, 2010 Public Hearings; Fact Sheet and Overview Presentation: Air Transport Webinar (2pp, 24KB) September 2, 2010 1:00-3:00pm EDT (Webinar Video)
Docket Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491
Other Regulatory Information
Get information on the status of environmental rulemakings that impact your community. There are several sites available including:
- Rulemaking Gateway - site provides a portal to EPA’s priority rulemaking for all media (air, water, waste). The site allows you to sort rules by topic, effect, phase in the regulatory process, or other specific criteria such as Environmental Justice (EJ).
- Regulations.gov - an online portal where users can find information about, and comment on, all agencies' rules.
- OAR Policy and Guidance Information - Recent Additions - provides access to rules, policy, and guidance documents produced by the USEPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). Recent Additions provides a list of the most recent actions.
- EPA Publications - This site is EPA's premier site for accessing EPA publications, with more than 7,000 in stock and 35,000 digital titles, free of charge! EPA's print publications are available through the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP), and EPA's digital publications are stored in the National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS) database! You can search and retrieve, download, print and/or order only EPA publications from this site.