Proposal To Cut Plant Emissions

EPA is proposing tighter emission standards for smaller chemical plants that process, use, or produce any of 15 hazardous air pollutants. It would affect chemical manufacturing facilities that annually emit less than 10 tons of any one of the hazardous pollutants or less than 25 tons of any combination of them. According to EPA, the proposed changes would cut emissions of 270 tons of toxic air pollutants and 360 tons of fine particulates nationwide each year at a cost of $5.5 million. The Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association says the proposal would disproportionately affect small- and medium-sized specialty batch chemical makers. The proposal would impose “overreaching” emission limits on smaller facilities, SOCMA contends. The industry group says proposed inspection and recordkeeping requirements would require many companies “to outlay an inordinate amount of resources to comply,” especially if they use negligible amounts of the 15 covered chemicals. The proposal is available at epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/new.html.