GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS REGULATIONS Improving Air Quality to Meet Revised Soot Standard Could Harm U.S. Economy By Lucinda Minton Langworthy and Angela R. Morrison Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduced the level of the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), commonly referred to as soot, from 12-9 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m 3 ), reflecting a 25 percent reduction in the standard intended to be protective of human health. This new NAAQS, which applies outside the fence lines of industrial facilities, is expected to have significant detrimental consequences for American indus-try due to challenging and costly compliance requirements and for the American economy in general due to higher prices for construction and consumer goods, plus increased imports needed to offset reduced domestic production. Upon the rule’s release, Portland Cement Association Presi-dent and CEO Mike Ireland noted, “This new rule strikes at the heart of the U.S. cement industry’s ability to deliver on the Biden Administration’s infrastructure goals, as it would lead to fewer hours of operation at plants, which would mean layoffs, as well as less American cement and concrete at a time when the country needs more.” The rule becomes effective on May 6, 2024, and immediately any applicant for a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) air construction permit for a new or modified major stationary source will have to demonstrate that the permitted action’s air emissions will not cause or contribute to a violation of the new standard. This requirement applies even if the PSD permit application was complete before the effective date of the new standard. Cement manufacturing facilities often qualify as “major sources” under this program and may be subject to PSD permitting requirements for new projects. Although a well-controlled new or modernized facility may not in fact lead to a NAAQS violation, it may be impossible to demonstrate this because EPA requires use of conservative computer modeling in combination with overstating background pollution levels and requiring unrealistic assumptions that sources will operate continuously at their maximum allowable emission rate. If the demonstration cannot be made, proposed projects will not be allowed to proceed, potentially impeding job growth and the modernization and expansion of manufacturing and industrial facilities throughout the country. Looking forward, if a monitor measuring ambient air concentra-tions of PM2.5 reflects an annual average concentration exceeding the new standard, the entire county where the monitor is located will be at risk of a “nonattainment” designation—meaning that sources of PM2.5 located in that county will be subject to addi-tional regulation aimed at reducing emissions and improving air quality. Although EPA does not anticipate designating geograph-ic-based nonattainment areas for the new NAAQS until February 2026, the Agency has initially estimated that the number of coun-ties monitoring violations of the new annual standard will be approximately 120, which is double the number with monitored concentrations above with the current standard. The number is likely to increase because EPA will designate a county as nonat-tainment for PM2.5 if emissions originating there contribute to a violation of the standard in another county, even if the contrib-uting county’s air quality meets the standard, and contributing counties are not reflected in the current estimate. Within a year after the nonattainment designations, activities implemented by federal agencies and federally supported highway and transit projects (including locally funded ones) planned in nonattainment and attainment areas will be limited and may not proceed if the associated emissions would cause or contribute to a new violation of the standard, increase the frequency or severity of an existing violation, or delay timely attainment of the standard. This can have an obvious impact on industries that provide mate-rials to construct these projects. At the same time, any increases in PM2.5 from new or modified industrial sources would be allowed only if the most stringent emission controls are utilized and if off-setting reductions are available, meaning that for every new ton of emissions or PM2.5 or a PM2.5 precursor (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and, in some cases, ammonia), there must be at least one ton of permanent emission reductions from another source in the area. The availability of offsets can be difficult to track, and growth in these areas becomes severely limited which negatively affects an area’s economic opportunities and vitality. Unfortunately, the cement industry estimates that approximately one-third of its manufacturing plants are located in areas at risk of being designated nonattainment. Later, within 18 months after designation, states with non-attainment areas must submit State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to EPA that require existing sources of PM2.5 (or its precursors) to implement or install reasonably available control measures Lucinda Minton Langworthy Angela Morrison 14 • April 2024 www.concreteproducts.com