EPA Limits Emissions From Industrial Boilers

EPA last week issued final standards to curtail emissions of mercury, soot, and other pollutants from industrial boilers, saying the regulations will provide public health benefits while slashing compliance costs for industry in half, or by $1.8 billion, compared with an earlier proposal. Under the rules, chemical plants, refineries, and other large industrial facilities will be required to reduce toxic air emissions from roughly 13,800 boilers, in some cases by installing new pollution controls. Because the final standards differ significantly from the original proposals and were issued under a court-ordered deadline, EPA signaled that it would use a Clean Air Act process that allows the agency to seek additional input and, if necessary, further refine the emissions standards. Last month, a federal judge rejected EPA’s petition for a 15-month delay and ordered the agency to issue the standards by Feb. 21 (C&EN, Jan. 31, page 10). “The final rules show progress, but because the courts denied EPA’s request for more time, more must be done to ensure important adjustments are made,” says Calvin M. Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade association.