PART OF THE GAS PRODUCTION PLANT IN
SEATTLE THAT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO
GASWORKS PARK. THIS STRUCTURE AND SEVERAL
OTHERS SIT FENCED OFF FROM THE REST OF THE
PARK BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL TOO POLLUTED
FOR PEOPLE TO GO NEAR.
in OctOBer, the ePa PrOPOsed a new rule tO tailOr aPPlicaBility standards fOr GreenhOuse
Gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources under the Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) and
Title V programs of the Clean Air
Act. Stationary sources include any
building or stationary facility that
emits greenhouse gases. At current
Clean Air Act standards (250 tons
per year), sources such as small- to
mid-sized office buildings, apartment
buildings, schools, hospitals and
other buildings could be subject to
costly and burdensome permitting
requirements.
The EPA proposed the rule in
response to an April 2007 Supreme
Court decision, in which the agency
was directed to conduct tests as to
whether or not green house gas emis-
sions contribute to air pollution to an
extent that it would endanger public
health or welfare. In December 2009,
the EPA identified six greenhouse gases
that contribute to air pollution and
may endanger public health, including
carbon dioxide (CO2). This is known
as the “endangerment finding.”
In May, the EPA issued a final
rule known as the Tailoring Rule to
establish thresholds for GHG emis-
sions, including CO2. The EPA will
implement the new regulations using
a phased-in approach. The first step
will begin on January 2, 2011, and will
apply only to emitters that fall under
current Title V and PSD permit-
ting requirements. The second step,
beginning July 1, 2011, will phase
in additional large sources of GHG
emissions. New or existing sourc-
es that emit, or have the potential
to emit, 100,000 tons per year will
become subject to Title V and PSD
permitting requirements.
The EPA plans to issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemak-ing sometime in 2011, in which they
will solicit comments regarding a
third phase-in to include additional
sources. Should the EPA decide to
proceed with the third phase, it will
begin July 1, 2013.
The Tailoring Rule includes a provision prohibiting the EPA from subjecting any source with emissions
below 50,000 tons per year of CO2
to PSD or Title V requirements until
April 30, 2016. However, throughout
the phasing in of the Tailoring Rule,
the EPA will research streamlining
techniques to make the permitting
program more efficient, allowing for
further expansion to even smaller
sources of emissions.
The EPA published the final rule in
the Federal Register on June 3, 2010.
IREM legislative staff will continue
to track activity regarding any developments on the above topics on behalf
of the commercial real estate industry.
EPA ISSUES FINAL RULE
ON CO2 EMISSIONS
iReM public
policy webpage
If you are interested in learning
more about other hot issues in
your state and around the country,
please check out IREM’s Public
Policy webpage at www.irem.
org/publicpolicy. This page has a
plethora of information on various
legislative issues and hot topics.
Also, under the tab, “IREM State
Legislative Database,” you can
input your member username and
password and browse through
state legislation, by either topic or
state. This database is powered by
StateNet and has up-to-the minute
proposed legislation on various
issues pertaining to the commercial
real estate industry. We encourage
you to check this database often,
as new bills are collected every
day. If you have any questions on
how to use this database or would
like more information on a particu-
lar bill, please contact the IREM
Legislative Liaison, Beth Price,
at (800) 837-0706 ext. 6021 or
bprice@irem.org.
