For Release: Wednesday, January 14, 2004
DEC Finalizes Policy to Control Fine Particulate Emissions
New Policy on PM2.5 Will Protect Public Health, Environment
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty today announced the finalization of DEC's policy to assess and minimize emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a measure aimed at mitigating the impacts of the pollutant on public health and the environment.
The final policy, which was published in today's Environmental Notice Bulletin and takes effect in 30 days, establishes guidelines to assess the level of PM2.5 emissions from a proposed facility, measures the impacts of those emissions, and when necessary, mitigates the impact of the emissions. Before finalizing the policy, DEC sought public comment on the draft policy to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment and offer input on the proposal.
"Under the leadership of Governor Pataki, New York continues to take aggressive steps to reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality throughout the State," Commissioner Crotty said. "By implementing a policy to address fine particulate matter emissions, we are further protecting air quality and public health from the potentially damaging effects of this pollutant."
Under the new policy, if a facility is subject to review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) or is a major power plant being reviewed under Article X, the applicant for the project would have to quantify its potential PM2.5 emissions. If the estimates of total emissions exceed 15 tons per year, an air quality impact analysis, consisting of computer modeling, would be required to determine the project's incremental contribution to PM2.5 ambient air concentrations. Based on this analysis, a full Environmental Impact Statement may have to be undertaken to assess the severity of the air quality impact, evaluate alternatives, and institute reasonable mitigating measures to minimize the impacts of the project.
Airborne particulate matter consists of various substances suspended in air in the form of solids or liquid droplets. Fine particles - those less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) - present potential health problems because they can penetrate into the deepest parts of the lungs. Scientific studies have indicated a possible connection between fine particulate matter and respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis. Elderly people and young children are most susceptible to the health risk of PM2.5. Particulate matter may also contribute to haze.
The primary sources of PM2.5 are fossil fuel combustion from stationary sources such as oil-fired power plants and mobile sources, such as diesel vehicles. Certain industrial sources, like smelting, and large wildfires also emit fine particulate matter.
In addition, chemical reactions in the atmosphere can result in the formation of PM2.5 through a process called secondary formation. These reactions involve gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxides (SOx) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Secondary formation may take hours or days to complete.
Katherine Kennedy, Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, "Fine particulate matter -- commonly known as soot -- is a major threat to public health in New York State. New York State's commitment to including this dangerous form of air pollution in the environmental review process is an important first step toward addressing this threat. Next, we must work to control and reduce fine particulate emissions from diesel generators, diesel vehicles -- especially school buses -- and power plants."
Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said, "PM2.5 is doing enormous damage to the health and environment of New Yorkers. With parts of the state that are home to millions of residents exceeding the federal standards on PM2.5, action is urgently needed. We welcome DEC's new policy -- PM2.5 should be an important consideration in judging the environmental impact of new facilities across New York State. New Yorkers will be able to breathe a little more easily with this policy in place."
The final PM2.5 policy is available on DEC's website or may be obtained by writing to Steve Flint, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2nd Floor, 625 Broadway, Albany New York 12233.
In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for coarse particulate matter (PM10). New York State implemented a program to assess and mitigate PM10 emissions.
Scientific research conducted in the 1980s first indicated that potential health risks associated with fine particulate matter differed from those of coarse particulate matter. By the mid-1990s, the scientific community accepted that fine particulate matter presents potential health problems apart from those associated with coarse particulate matter. Additional studies are ongoing and procedures for measuring PM2.5 are still being developed. In 1997, the EPA issued new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter, prescribing monitoring methods for ambient air. The annual standard is 15 micrograms per cubic meter and the 24-hour standard is 65 micrograms per cubic meter.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, regions that do not meet or exceed specific federal air quality standards are designated as non-attainment areas. DEC expects to propose its PM2.5 designations to the EPA in February 2004 and the federal agency will make official designations in December 2004.
New York was among the first states in the nation to have an EPA-approved monitoring network for PM2.5 and is one of the first states to establish a policy to address PM2.5 impacts -- ahead of any EPA plan on how to implement such standards. The policy will help address PM2.5 emissions until the adoption of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) for fine particulate matter. A SIP provides an assessment of the State's air quality and includes a plan to preserve air quality in areas that meet NAAQS, and a plan to improve air quality to attain the NAAQS in areas that are found to exceed these standards. DEC will begin developing the SIP for PM2.5 once the EPA has made attainment designations.
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