Clean Air Act Rules for Industry Eased
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration revised Clean Air Act rules Wednesday, exempting companies from installing new pollution-control devices if they modify their facilities to make them more efficient but also more polluting.
The revision, which came in response to years of industry pressure, makes more specific how much "routine maintenance" a company can do to upgrade or repair its equipment without being required to install modern pollution-control equipment.
The revision allows a utility, refinery, manufacturing plant or other large industrial facility to spend for repairs as much as 20% of what it would cost to replace a major component of its plant before the requirement is triggered.
Bush administration officials said the change would provide more clarity to industries about when they must install pollution-control devices when upgrading or repairing their facilities.
"This rule will result in safer, more efficient operation of these facilities and, in the case of power plants, more reliable operations that are environmentally sound and provide more affordable energy," said Marianne Horinko, acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Environmentalists contended the change would make it much easier for plants to increase emissions and could have devastating effects on health and the environment, causing more asthma and premature deaths and choking cities and national parks with smog.
The rule applies to about 20,000 facilities nationwide that are considered major emitters. In California, where air pollution rules are stricter, it takes less pollution to count as a major emitter, and many smaller facilities -- such as auto body paint shops, bakeries and small-parts manufacturers -- fall into that category.
California is one of many states that have protested the changes. "The Bush administration is moving in the wrong direction," Gov. Gray Davis said Wednesday. "Their policies will increase pollution and result in more illness. I will fight these policies."
Power plants and factories in California that expand or relocate are typically required to install the best available controls, a standard which has not always been applied elsewhere.
State officials believe that California's current program has been effective in requiring companies to update their pollution-control equipment.
