New Source Review: Should It Survive?

摘要

The present NSR program works reasonably well in lowering pollution from new facilities by requiring the installation of state-of-the-art technology, although the program can add one year or more to the review of a proposed modification of a facility and can cost over $1 million. However, for existing facilities, the pre-2002 program protects neither the legitimate needs of business or the environment. From 1997 to 1999, only about 850 NSR permits were issued for about 17,000 facilities that are potentially subject to NSR. This may be due to widespread failure to obtain NSR permits or the careful use of netting to stay below the NSR threshold. Either way, significant environmental improvement is not occurring from the NSR program. Nevertheless, NSR can affect the competitiveness of "fast-to-market" industries or those with short product cycles, or that have large-scale batch production, such as electronics, pharma-ceuticals, and specialty chemicals. As areas continue to fail to meet NAAQS, the high polluting grandfathered sources may be responsible for more Draconian restrictions being imposed on even relatively clean facilities. The new NSR regulations effect only a portion of the air pollution control program, but hold promise for increasing managerial discretion and saving time and money. At the same time, owners and operators of stationary sources will be able to more easily avoid NSR and the regulations may reduce the government's ability to enforce the C AA's provisions. They also may limit the public's ability to participate in the process. One of the major weaknesses of the prior NSR program was the absence of requirements for sources to notify the state about changes with the potential to trigger NSR. This problem does not appear to have been effectively addressed.