AGENDA #11

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Petition regarding Revisions to the EPA’s Clean Air Act

 

DATE:             October 8, 2003

 

 

At the September 22, 2003 Council meeting, the Council received and referred a petition (Attachment 1) from a citizen requesting that the Council adopt a resolution urging the NC Attorney General to file a petition for review against the EPA’s “Routine Maintenance” Rule change in the New Source and Review Provision of the Clean Air Act.  The petition also requested that the Council urge the entire NC Congressional delegation to co-sponsor legislation in Congress to repeal the EPA’s ”Routine Maintenance” ruling.

 

Attached is the resolution presented by the petitioner, reformatted to Town standard, for consideration of action as the Council may desire.

 

ATTACHMENT

 

  1. September 22, 2003 petition from Avram Friedman (p. 3).

A RESOLUTION URGING THE NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL ROY COOPER TO FILE A PETITION FOR REVIEW AGAINST  THE EPA’S “ROUTINE MAINTENANCE” RULE CHANGE IN THE NEW SOURCE AND REVIEW PROVISION OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT AND URGING THE ENTIRE NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO CO-SPONSOR LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS TO REPEAL THE EPA’S “ROUTINE MAINTENANCE” RULING (2003-10-08/R-6)

 

WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued a rule change to the New Source Review Provision of the Clean Air Act that re-defines the term “routine maintenance” to include an annual investment valued at up to 20% of the total value of older power plants, factories and refineries; and

 

WHEREAS, these facilities are exempt from installing modern emission control systems as long as they are not upgraded in any way beyond “routine maintenance”; and

 

WHEREAS, this new rule change would allow the total replacement of a facility in a five-year period without losing its exempt status under the new definition of “routine maintenance”; and

 

WHEREAS, this policy will create a perpetual exempt status for tens of thousands of heavily polluting industries, in clear contradiction to the intent of the congressional law that created the New Source Review provision; and

 

WHEREAS, this policy will result in smokestack emission levels that will adversely affect the health of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians and people throughout the country; and

 

WHEREAS, Section 20 of the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act legally obligates State officials to protect North Carolinians, using “all available means,” from air pollution originating outside this state’s borders;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council urges Attorney General Roy Cooper to act immediately before the deadline of October 27, 2003, on his obligations under Section 10 to file a Petition for review, on behalf of North Carolina, against the EPA’s “routine maintenance” rule change to the New Source Review Provision of the Clean Air Act.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council urges all members of the North Carolina Congressional delegation to co-sponsor legislation in Congress to repeal the EPAS’s “routine maintenance” ruling.

 

This the 8th day of October, 2003.