EPA press release on WTC cleaning hotline launch, June 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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Detenriteing whien an utxiated aid source shGuld hkve Bta J&eet paew sourcestandardshasaisoproved dif­ ficult. The exisdng law contains a mechanism called new source review, whereby expenditures on existing plants are'reviewed to see whether the plant has crossed the poorly defined Uhe.between old.and new. The uncer- ■ talnty si this Une to discouraged power plant owners from improving existing units for fear of tri^ering “new source” requirements. It to also led to lengthy llUgation over what is and 1^’1 “new.” ' . An ejgjanded cap-andrtrade pro- gram woiild make no distinction be­ tween new sources and old — and, given the administration's propped cap, would be more effective in rediic- ing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissiOns than the existing system. (Such a system could be ex­ panded to cover some particulates and volatile organic compounds as well as sources other than power plants.) In the administration’s plan, plant owners would get both the incentive to reduce emissions and the flexibility to find the cheapest cleanup strategies for key pollutants without regard to a ’ plant's age. The nation is more likely to reduce air pollutants faster by scrapping toe new-source:^at^, in- creasing toe useofc£m-and-trade,and moving away from a system toat re- qulres regulators to make too many plant-by-plant decisions. □

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