ENV-11-07 Effective PSD Permitting Strategies for GHG Emissions

Description:

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule (hereafter “Tailoring Rule”) on June 3, 2010. By this action, the EPA began regulating emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) through the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The provisions of the Tailoring Rule have since become effective on January 2, 2011. The legal basis for this regulation rests on EPA’s Endangerment Finding, published December 15, 2009, which found that the aggregate of six well-mixed gases produced by human activity are reasonably anticipated to endanger public health and welfare. EPA found that these gases cause or contribute to an intensification of the naturally occurring greenhouse effect of Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in climactic changes due to global warming.